


Like Daughter, Like Mother

by SerenBex



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2018-05-08 18:24:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 56
Words: 104,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5508131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerenBex/pseuds/SerenBex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of one-shots showing Kate and Osgood's relationship... with the interference of Kate's daughter!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Forcing her Hand

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know where this came from... I honestly don't! It just kinda... fell... out of my mind! I suppose that's what a break from the constant manic Christmas time with my family does!
> 
> x

"Ma'am? Someone in your office to see you."

Kate frowned as the UNIT officer bobbed his head in greeting and disappeared back through the doorway. She glanced sideways at Colonel Shindi and signalled that she'd be alright. He sent her a look, before nodding and turning to walk briskly back the way they'd come.

Composing herself, Kate took a breath before pushing open her office door and looking at the figure who had seated themselves in the chair behind her desk. The blonde's mouth dropped open as a broad grin and a very familiar face greeted her, unable to quite believe just who was swinging gently in the huge leather chair.

"Hello, Mum."

"Emily!" An almost identical smile split the Chief Scientific Officer's face at the sight of her daughter. "What are you doing here?"

Pausing briefly to wrap her mother in a bone-crushing hug, the young woman leant back against her desk. "Reading week… I thought I'd come and visit."

"And you're always welcome, darling." Her mother assured her quickly. It was incredibly rare that the teenager chose to spend her time off from university visiting her mother, preferring to stay with her friends instead. "But perhaps this isn't the best place for us to catch up."

"Oooh!" The brunette winked at her mother. "Why? Have you got some gossip for me?"

"No, I just–"

"You do, don't you!" Emily laughed, grinning at her mother cheekily. "What's his name? Or her name? I shouldn't make assumptions."

Kate arched an eyebrow at her daughter. She was incredibly comfortable with her sexuality and had been for as long as Kate could remember. Emily had calmly announced at the age of fourteen, over Sunday lunch with her father's parents no less, that she was a lesbian and had a girlfriend called Charlotte. Kate had choked on her wine in amusement at the causal tone her daughter had used to make her declaration and had to force herself not to laugh at the horrified expressions on her in-laws faces. Her ex-husband hadn't been much calmer. In that moment Kate had been glad that she and Daniel were already divorced and she could escape the ensuing ranting which, no doubt, pegged the blame squarely on her shoulders.

"Let's go and get some lunch." She suggested after checking the time on her watch. "I'm sure UNIT can survive without me for an hour or so."

As they were leaving the office, Osgood hurried forward to ask Kate a question. The blonde kept one eye on her daughter as she spoke to her assistant, narrowing her eyes at the subtle tilt of Emily's head and the way her eyes were trailing over the other scientist's body slowly. Her own eyes narrowed slightly as she recognised the interest sparking in the nineteen-year-old's eyes. Her irritation was heightened further as Emily smirked at Osgood and shot her a quick wink, turning on her heels and walking backwards for a few paces in order to continue looking at the other woman who was clearly thoroughly flustered by the attention.

"So, where have you been hiding her, Mother?" Emily asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

"I haven't been hiding her anywhere, Em." Kate huffed, turning a warning eye on the young woman. "And don't you even think about it…"

"Why?" Her daughter pouted petulantly. "She's definitely interested in girls. I can always tell."

"Emily, no."

"No, I'm wrong and she's not into girls or no, _I_ can't be interested in _her_."

Kate glanced at her and, if her daughter wasn't very much mistaken, she seemed as flustered as the scientist had done moments earlier with a noticeable pink tinge to her cheeks. "The latter. Although I'm sure the former… just… no, Emily. Leave Osgood alone."

"Osgood?" The teenager smirked.

"Stop it." Her mother warned seriously, pulling open the door of the small café not far from UNIT HQ and ushering her daughter inside.

A waiter appeared instantly, smiling widely at the blonde and treating her like an old friend. On hearing that her companion was, in fact, her daughter, the man gushed about how beautiful the teenager was and how she and her mother could have been twins. Both women laughed, brushing off his compliments and accepting the menus he handed them before sweeping away to fulfil their drinks orders.

"So? How's your father and… what's her name? Chloe?"

Emily snorted, glancing up from the menu briefly. "Chloe is long gone. The latest one is called Izzie. Dad has such shit taste in women it's almost funny… or it would be if it wasn't completely humiliating. You're well shot, Mum."

Kate winced at the irritation that had clouded both her daughter's expression and her tone. "What's this latest one like?"

"Six years older than me and trying to be my best mate."

"Really?"

"It's terrifying, seriously." Emily informed her honestly. "Also, every time I have to go over there, Dad launches into the same speech about how he doesn't understand why I changed my surname to Stewart, why I want to be my own person and why I don't want to be part of his ostensibly perfect little world. His favourite phrase is ' _you're just like your mother_ ', which is true. But it's still laughable… he just doesn't get it. He's living in some kind of dream world."

"He was really hurt when you wanted to change your surname two weeks after I filed for divorce, Em."

" _He_ really hurt _you_ when he cheated."

"I'm fine." Kate promised, reaching over the table and squeezing her hand with a smile. "And he just wants you to be happy."

"I don't want to talk about him." Emily told her bluntly, shrugging. "I want to talk about you. Gordy said that you're working too hard and he thinks that you're lonely. I pointed out that he only lives a tube ride away and it wouldn't kill him to visit you more often, but he said something about being busy with his job."

"He comes over every Sunday for lunch, which–"

"Is more than I do, yes I know." The teenager rolled her eyes.

"I was actually going to say, which is lovely." Kate corrected her. "I know you're busy with university and your friends. I don't expect you to visit me every week. Although visits a little more often would be nice."

"So?" Emily steered the conversation back to her mother. "Are you lonely? Is that why you work so hard?"

The blonde shook her head. "Of course I'm not lonely. You know how demanding UNIT is."

"Or…" the teenager smirked, her eyes glinted mischievously, "I tried to discus the possibility that you might have a love interest with Gordy, but he looked like he was about to throw up. You know what he's like with the whole relationships and sex thing…"

"Yes… although I'm not entirely sure I'm comfortable with the idea of my children discussing my love life."

"Ah!" Emily grinned triumphantly. "I knew it! There is someone!"

"That's not what I said."

"But it's what you meant."

"Emily, I do not want to have this conversation with you." Kate informed her seriously.

"Why?" The teenager asked, genuinely interested in the answer. "Is it someone at work? Is it someone inappropriate? Would I not approve? _Should_ I not approve?"

"Stop it."

Her daughter shook her head. "Not a chance. It's someone from work, right?" She shrugged. "Of course it is; you don't meet anyone else. So it's someone from work… someone you don't want to tell me about, which means its someone you don't think people will approve of?"

"I think I'm a little old to worry about whether people will approve or not." Kate reasoned with a sigh.

They paused their conversation for a few moments while the waiter brought their food. The brief distraction allowed Emily time to consider what she knew. Kate groaned internally as a broad smile crept over her daughter's face and sudden realisation dawned in her eyes.

She held up a finger as the waiter hurried away, preventing the teenager from speaking. "No, Emily, conversation over. Tell me about your life. Are you still seeing Laura?"

"I know who it is. It's so obvious." She laughed delightedly. "It's Osgood, isn't it?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"It is! That's why you got all weird when I checked her out, because you fancy her. Oh, Mother," Emily pressed a hand to her chest dramatically, "you've finally seen the light. I'm so proud of you."

"Emily Fiona Stewart, stop this, now." Kate hissed. "This is totally inappropriate. Osgood is my assistant; my subordinate."

"So?"

"You have no idea how–"

"OK. Fine." Emily shrugged innocently, leaning back in her seat and smiling at her mother. "You're not interested so there's no reason I shouldn't ask her out."

"You can't!"

"Why?"

"Because… because you don't… it's inappropriate."

"I don't work for UNIT." The teenager pointed out. "It's not inappropriate. Unless you've got personal reasons against me asking her out?"

Kate shot her a furious look, but clenched her jaw and said nothing. They ate their lunch in near silence, the blonde brooding and her daughter smiling knowingly. The expression was making Kate more and more irritated and determined not to react. A large part of her was sure that Emily was just saying that she was going to ask Osgood out to wind her up and, as lunch continued, Kate convinced herself that nothing would come of it.

It was raining heavily when they left the café and Emily informed her mother that Gordy was going to pick her up from the Tower. Unwilling to let her daughter stand in the rain to wait, Kate reluctantly agreed to let her wait in her office. She kept a close eye on the teenager as they walked through the corridors, willing Osgood to remain hidden away in her lab and not tempt her daughter to stay true to her word.

Her luck appeared to be in until, after receiving a text from her brother, Emily was making her way back out of the base. Kate was watching from the doorway of her office and felt her heart clench in her chest as the scientist stepped out into the corridor, head in a report, and walked straight into the teenager.

Kate had no idea what was being said, but when both brunettes turned to look in her direction, she felt as though the bottom had dropped out of her stomach. Emily said something and Osgood whipped her head back to the younger woman hurriedly, blushing. Several words were exchanged and then the scientist dropped her file, while fumbling in her pocket for her inhaler.

Striding towards them quickly, Kate scowled at her daughter. "What on earth are you playing at, Emily? Osgood, are you alright?"

"Y– Yes, Ma'am…" She replied quickly, nodding vehemently. "Quite alright."

"Osgood was just agreeing to meet me for a drink tonight, weren't you?" Emily informed her mother smugly.

Looking incredibly flustered, Osgood blushed crimson. "I… I…"

"Just stop this, Emily." Kate hissed. "Leave Osgood out of your games. She's obviously not interested, in you or me or any woman, so stop it. "

"I'm sorry, Emily, but Kate's right, I– hang on?" The scientist turned to look at her superior with a light frown. "Or you?"

Kate's eyes widened dramatically and she pointedly avoided looking at her daughter, who she knew was grinning broadly. "I didn't… well… you know…"

"I know what?"

"She fancies you." Emily informed her bluntly. "She told me I wasn't allowed to ask you out, but obviously that meant I had to so that she'd do something about the ginormous crush she has on you."

"Kate?" Osgood looked torn between wanting to believe what she was hearing and fearing that she was being made fun of.

"I…"

"For God's sake, Mum, just tell her." The teenager sighed exasperatedly. "You like her, she likes you and I spotted a really hot waitress in that café we went to… it's simple."

"Emily…" Kate breathed, not moving her gaze from Osgood's face. "Please… just go home. I'll speak to you later."

With a snort, her daughter turned and headed towards the exit. "Yeah, sure you will. Nice to meet you, Osgood."

There was a long silence once the teenager had left them alone. The atmosphere between them had shifted dramatically and it seemed to be laden with promise. Neither of them were quite sure what had happened, or what was going to happen, but there was a definite change in their dynamic.

"Perhaps we should…" Kate suggested after a moment, signalling towards her office.

Osgood nodded, only too happy to follow the blonde into the privacy afforded by the door and the blinds. No one was paying them any attention, but both women felt as though all eyes were on them. Closing the door firmly behind Osgood, Kate turned to look at her apologetically.

"I'm so sorry about Emily… I really will speak to her later." The blonde promised. "She meant no harm, but she doesn't always think about the consequences of her actions. All this… she's trying to push me into acting…"

"So…" Osgood blushed. "I'm sorry, Ma'am, but I don't understand. What did you mean when you said I'm obviously not interested in you? Are… I mean… are you? Interested in me, that is?"

It was Kate's turn to blush at her direct question. She knew she needed to give an answer, but the way Osgood was looking at her was making it incredibly difficult for the woman to formulate a coherent sentence. "I… yes. I have to confess that I am… very interested in you. Professionally, obviously, but… also personally… as a person… as a woman."

"I see…"

"Of course, I am well aware that it would be highly unprofessional to..."

"Highly unprofessional, yes." Osgood agreed, the ghost of a smile playing about her lips, although Kate was far too flustered to notice.

"And of course, I am under no illusions that you… well… I'm sorry if you're uncomfortable with..."

"Uncomfortable with…?" Osgood questioned softly, tilting her head to one side as she took another step closer to the older woman.

"Well… uncomfortable with the thought that I… well, that I… I never intended to make you feel uncom–"

Cupping the blonde's face gently, Osgood leant in and kissed her, effectively stopping her rambling. Kate gave a small squeak of surprise, her eyes widening for a split second, before she wrapped her arms around the other woman and pulled her closer. Osgood smiled against her lips before deepening the kiss.

"Thank God you finally shut up." She whispered as they broke apart for air a while later. "Remind me to thank your daughter for forcing you into this."

Kate groaned. "She's going to be so smug. I hate it when she's right…"

"Then don't think about it." Osgood urged in a whisper, nuzzling her nose against the other woman's. "Don't think about anything."

And she kissed her again.


	2. The First Date

“You’re not seriously going to wear that, are you?”

Kate exhaled sharply and turned to look at Emily, who was sprawled across her bed with her chin resting on her folded arms, with narrowed eyes. The teenager smiled innocently up at her mother, before shifting her positing so that her elbows were sinking into the duvet and her head was cradled in her palms. 

“I was planning to, yes.” The older woman replied irritably. “Why?”

“Because it’s a suit, Mother.” Her daughter pointed out with an exasperated sigh. “It’s what you wear day in, day out to work. It’s something Osgood has seen you in about a million times before.”

“So?”

“So?” Emily rolled sideways off the bed and padded over to her mother’s open wardrobe. “So this is your first date. You need to give her something new to add to the wan–”

“Stop!” Kate covered her ears, knowing exactly what her daughter had been about to say. “I’m still living in blissful ignorance about your, no doubt, very colourful life. In my mind you’re still the adorable six-year-old with ribbons at the end of her plaits.”

The nineteen-year-old pushed her away gently as Kate pressed a kiss to her cheek, scrubbing it away childishly. “Muuum! Fine… you need to give her something ‘for later’.”

“What would you recommend then, oh fount of all knowledge?” 

“What about this?” Emily suggested, pulling out an emerald green dress with a crew neck and cap sleeves. 

Kate wrinkled her nose. “I wore that to the Ambassador’s Ball last year. We’re only going out for dinner, Em.”

“OK…”

The teenager scrabbled around in the wardrobe for a while, pulling out items of her mother’s clothing before pulling faces at them and pushing them back onto the rack. Kate felt slightly offended by her daughter’s reactions and attempted to defend her fashion sense, only to have a dismissive hand wafted in her direction.

Kate was just starting to regret asking for assistance when Emily pulled something out with a triumphant cry. “What about this… and this?”

Tilting her head, the older woman scrutinised the proposed outfit carefully. Emily had teamed a bright red pencil skirt with a simple white blouse. Kate tried to find something about it that was unsuitable so that she could return to pushing one of her trouser suits as an option. The longer she stared at the combination, however, the more she liked it.

“OK, fine!” She threw up her hands, pointedly ignoring the smug smirk on her daughter’s face.

“Wear the black patent stilettos…” Emily ordered as she headed out of the room, “and a black bra.”

Kate frowned at the cheeky grin and threw one of the shoes in question at the closing door. For a moment she wondered when the teenager had decided to completely abandon the traditional boundaries of a mother-daughter relationship, before deciding that it probably had something to do with the long hours she spent at work and how she had tried to make up for it by acting more like a friend than a mother.

“Are you ready yet?” Emily called from the other side of the door.

“Hang on…” Hastily Kate changed into the skirt and blouse, scrutinising her appearance critically in the mirror. “OK.” The door was flung open dramatically and the teenager appeared. Kate rolled her eyes at her entrance, before turning back to the mirror. “Will I do?”

“You look gorgeous, Mum.” Emily assured her. “You’ll have to make sure Osgood’s got her inhaler to hand.”

“Em…” The older woman chided her softly.

“No, seriously, Mum, you look really good.” 

Pushing her over to the dressing table and down onto the stool, Emily reached past her mother and picked up the hairbrush, running it gently through Kate’s hair. When she was satisfied that all the knots were out, she twisted it up elegantly and secured it with a large clip. Staring at it critically for a moment, she screwed up her face and removed it, letting Kate’s hair loose over her shoulders.

“Perfect.” She murmured, smiling at her mother in the mirror. Then she glanced at her watch. “You’d better get going… don’t wanna be late, do you? She’d probably think you’d stood her up or something… and then apologise for it.”

Kate frowned at her daughter. “Stop it.”

Emily held up her hands and shrugged as she backed further down the hallway towards the stairs. “Hey, I like the woman a lot. She’s adorable and she obviously makes you happy… that’s all that matters.” Staring at her daughter for a moment, Kate shook her head slowly, making the teenager shuffle self-consciously on the spot. “What?”

“You.”

“What about me?”

“You’re so… wonderfully unique.” Her mother told her fondly, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

Emily shrugged and turned to lean against the wall. “You wouldn’t have time for me if I was boring and normal, would you?”

“Em…”

“Stop talking to me and leave!” The teenager laughed, kissing her mother on the cheek and pushing her towards the front door. “Enjoy yourself, be cool and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” She winked cheekily, before handing Kate her coat. “Also, send me a text if I need to put my headphones on when you come home… or if it’d be better for me to go out… either way, let me know.”

“Emily Stewart!” Kate cried, absolutely mortified by her daughter’s teasing. 

“Love you.” Emily replied, planting a kiss on her forehead, before spinning her mother around and closing the front door firmly behind her.

Kate blinked several times before checking that she had her keys, phone and purse and walking down the steps towards the road. Hailing a cab, she gave the name of the restaurant where she was meeting Osgood and sank back into the seat, staring out of the window. 

As the cab drew up outside the restaurant, a bright smile appeared on Kate’s face as she spotted the brunette scientist she’d been thinking about standing nervously under the awning. Osgood was tugging self-consciously at the bottom of her jacket, looking around hopefully, although Kate knew that she was nervous by the way she had drawn her bottom lip between her teeth and was chewing it.

Pushing a few notes in the driver’s direction, Kate didn’t bother to wait for any change, before climbing out of the car and striding across the road towards her date. Osgood beamed, raising her right hand and waving wildly, before lowering her hand quickly and blushing. Kate chuckled, letting her hand rest on the younger woman’s waist and leaning in to kiss her on the cheek.

“I hope you haven’t been waiting long?”

“Oh, no…” Osgood shook her head. “You know me… always early if possible…”

“Good… you look lovely, by the way.” Kate told her, keeping her hand almost possessively on the small of the younger woman’s back as she ushered her into the building. 

“Oh… I… thank you. So do you. Look lovely, I mean.”

Chuckling, the blonde leant closer and lowered her voice. “Relax, it’s just me. You don’t need to impress me or try and be anyone but you, OK?”

Osgood nodded wordlessly as the waiter approached them, spotted Kate and beamed. “Ms Stewart! Table for two?”

“Yes please, Marco… a quiet one, if possible.”

The man’s eyes widened in understanding and he smiled again, urging them to follow him through the tables to the back corner. Kate nodded when he asked whether it was to her liking, smiling reassuringly at Osgood as Marco pulled out the chair for the younger woman to sit down. 

They didn’t speak for a moment, while Kate perused the wine list carefully, before asking the waiter what he would recommend. He smiled and opened his mouth to speak, but Osgood cut in before he could utter a syllable. 

“What about the Pinot Noir?” She suggested, glancing up and meeting her date’s surprised eyes. “I quite like the freshness of the flavour. Or would you prefer a white wine? Perhaps the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc? I’m not really a fan of Mascato, it’s a little sweet for my tastes.”

“No… no. Pinot Noir is fine, great.” Kate stuttered, unused to the brunette being quite so assertive. She hadn’t imagined in a million years that Osgood would know anything about wines. “Well, aren’t you a dark horse, Ms Osgood?”

“Our love of good wines is one of the only things my mother and I have in common.” She confided, smiling softly. “My father and I are very alike and get on very well, but my mother and I rarely see eye-to-eye, except about wine.”

“You don’t talk about your family much.” Kate said, leaning her forearms lightly on the table.

“No, I suppose I don’t.” Osgood agreed. “Neither do you, though. I imagined Emily very differently… it was a bit of a shock when she cornered me in the corridor the other day.”

The blonde laughed softly and shook her head. “I imagine. I’m sorry about that. She’s… headstrong.”

“I like her. She’s not afraid to say what’s on her mind or go after what she wants.” Osgood looked down at her hands. “I’m glad she embarrassed you into admitting that you…” 

When she trailed off embarrassedly, Kate smirked. “Into admitting that I, what was it, have a ginormous crush on you?” 

“Yes, that…”

“I am sorry about her behaviour, though.” The blonde sighed. “She takes a bit of getting used to… doesn’t really respect boundaries… or social conventions. She understands them,” Kate said, shaking her head, “she just chooses to ignore them.”

“As I said, I’m glad. I am a bit worried about meeting your son, though, if he’s anything like her.” 

“Don’t worry, Gordy is almost the complete opposite.” Kate assured her, brimming with happiness at the idea that Osgood had thought about being introduced to her family. It seemed like a very good sign.

They smiled at each other for a moment, before Marco returned with their bottle of wine and took their orders. The conversation remained full of joking and light-hearted teasing and, although they spent the majority of their time in each other’s company, it seemed as though they barely knew each other at all. They traded anecdotes, found things that they had in common and noted their differences. 

“I can’t believe I never knew you were allergic to strawberries.” Kate shook her head at the revelation. “That seems like something I should have known.”

“Why would you know? It’s never come up in conversation before.” Osgood pointed out. “We could…”

“What?”

“Play a game… like a quick fire question and answer game? You know, the things that don’t really come up naturally in conversation… like allergies.” She suggested slowly.

“OK.” Kate agreed, chuckling. “You start.”

“Favourite colour?”

“Blue. Yours?”

“Red. Favourite film?” Osgood asked, watching carefully as Kate chewed her lip thinking hard. “I mean real favourite film, not the one you tell people because it’s less embarrassing than the truth.”

The blonde raised her eyebrows at her companion, thoroughly amused by her sudden self-confidence. It suited her, she decided, being so confident. Kate was glad that she felt able to express herself and what she wanted in her company. It was a far cry from the Osgood she’d met all those years ago. If she’d known then how much that timid scientist would come to mean to her, she would never have believed it.

“Kate?” Osgood was frowning lightly, leaning towards her. “Are you alright?”

“Oh, sorry…” Kate blushed. “I was just thinking about you.”

It was the brunette’s turn to blush at that information. “Oh… good things I hope.”

“Definitely.” Kate replied in a husky voice that made her date shift slightly in her chair. “It’s Carry on Cleo, by the way.”

Osgood almost dropped her wine glass in astonishment. “Really?”

“Yes… I used to watch it with my father; it was one of his favourites as well.”

“I’ve never seen it.” 

“You’ll have to.” Kate told her. Then, taking a deep breath she voiced the thought running through her mind. “We could… we could go back to my house and watch it now. If you want to. Obviously we don’t have to. I just–”

With a broad grin, Osgood reached across the table and placed her hand over Kate’s, which was fiddling with her discarded napkin agitatedly. “The nervous rambling is more my thing than yours, Kate. But I would love to.”

“You would?” Kate’s surprised eyes rose and met the younger woman’s. 

“I would.” Osgood agreed.

“Right.” The older woman pulled herself together, looking around for Marco so she could ask for the bill. “I’ll just pay and then–”

“You’re not paying.”

“I am.” She retorted firmly. “I chose the restaurant, so I’ll pay.”

Osgood glared playfully at her and then shrugged. “Fine. Next time I’ll choose the restaurant and pay.”

Kate’s heart leapt at the prospect of ‘next time’ and she beamed at her date. “Sounds fair to me.”

After settling the bill, refusing to let the brunette even catch a glimpse of the amount, Kate led the way back through the other diners and out into the chilly evening air. She could feel Osgood’s eyes on her as she stuck out her arm and waved down a taxi, but didn’t say anything until they were comfortably settled in the back of the car and heading towards her house.

“What?”

“You’re so beautiful.” Osgood told her without thinking. Then she blushed and tilted her head so that her hair covered her face. “I’m sorry, I… well, I’m not sorry, because it’s true, but I…”

“Oh, Osgood…” Kate sighed, leaning over and cupping her cheek gently. 

Slowly, she leant in so close that their lips were almost touching. She waited, wanting the final decision to be Osgood’s. For a moment they paused, their mingled breaths hung in the tiny space between them and time seemed to stand still. Then Osgood moved slightly bringing their bodies closer together and threaded her fingers through Kate’s hair. She nuzzled the older woman’s nose with her own, before finally joining their lips and kissing her softly.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.” Osgood whispered, as they broke apart.

“If it’s half as long as I’ve wanted to, I think I’ve got a good idea.” Kate replied equally quietly. Then she smiled and opened her clutch bag, pulling out her mobile and selecting the conversation thread under her daughter’s name. 

Osgood frowned in bemusement. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing.”

**_‘Remember your house keys when you go out tonight. Mum xxx’_ **


	3. The Morning After

A loud clatter, accompanied by some extremely creative swearing, made Osgood jump about a mile and almost drop the milk bottle in her hand. She whirled around and came face to face with a tall, skinny brunette teenager who had a pair of electric blue stilettos in one hand and a leather jacket in the other.

For a moment, the girl looked taken back to see her standing in the kitchen, wearing an old t-shirt and some pyjama bottoms, but then a broad smirk crept over her face. Emily dropped her shoes and jacket and pulled herself up to sit on the counter, tilting her head to scrutinise the older brunette thoroughly.

"Well, well, well… this is a turn up for the books." She chuckled.

"Oh… I… good morning…" Osgood mumbled, ducking her head and avoiding eye-contact, blushing profusely.

"Good night last night, was it?"

"Umm… yes. We… I… we watched a Carry On film."

Emily stared at the brunette for a moment, before bursting into giggles. "I have never heard it called that before."

"No." Osgood shook her head wildly, turning to look at the teenager with wide eyes. "No! We did. Carry On Cleo… I'd never seen it before and Kate… your mum… she told me it was her favourite and…"

"Chill out, Osgood." Emily chuckled, sliding off the counter and sauntering over to the fridge. Pulling open the door, she took out the carton of orange juice and unscrewed the lid. "I like you. As long as you make her happy and you don't hurt her, whatever you and Mum get up to is cool with me."

"Right…"

"But if you do hurt her…" The teenager stepped incredibly close to the scientist and stared at her, raising the carton of juice to her lips and taking a long sip.

She didn't need to say anything else and Osgood got the message loud and clear. She swallowed nervously, attempting to step back and realising that she was trapped between Emily and the oven. Part of her, a tiny part at the moment but one that she was show would grow as soon as the teenager stopped staring at her as though she could kill her with one finger, was pleased that Kate had someone who cared enough to protect her.

"What's going on?"

Emily stepped back immediately, shrugging and taking another swig of her orange juice as she smirked at her mother. "Osgood was just telling me about you carrying on last night…"

Spluttering, the brunette turned beseeching eyes on Kate. "I…"

"Cleo, wasn't it?" The teenager asked innocently.

"Emily." Her mother frowned warningly, shaking her head sharply. Then she took in her appearance and the shoes and jacket dumped unceremoniously on the tiled floor beside her. "Have you just got in?"

"Maybe…"

"Well where have you been?" Kate demanded, the maternal side of her shining through strongly.

"Out!" The nineteen-year-old replied simply. "Do you want a minute by minute replay?"

"Of course not." Her mother rolled her eyes, crossing the room and surreptitiously placing herself between Emily and Osgood under the pretence of accepting the cup of tea the brunette had made her. "I do worry, though, you know that."

The teenager placed the orange juice on the side and raised her hands in the air, backing out of the kitchen slowly. She stooped to gather up her things. "And this is getting too domestic now, so I'm out. Laters, love birds."

Once the sound of her bedroom door shutting above them assured the two women that Emily was safely out of the way, they turned to each other. Kate groaned softly and rested her forehead against Osgood's, tangling their fingers together. Breaking the contact briefly, the brunette tucked a stray strand of Kate's hair behind her ear and pressed a light kiss to her temple.

"What did she say to you?" The blonde demanded. "She wasn't rude, was she? Or… inappropriate."

"No… not exactly…"

Kate pulled back and looked at the younger woman carefully. "What did she say, Osgood?"

"She said… well, actually, she implied… that she wouldn't be best pleased if I hurt you. And, if the way she was looking at me is anything to go by I should probably be worried."

"I'll speak to her." Kate promised quickly, but Osgood shook her head.

"No, it's fine. Actually, it's rather sweet, really. She clearly adores you." The brunette said with a warm smile. "And you clearly adore her."

"Yes, but sometimes I despair of her." Kate told her honestly. "My father used to tell her stories about the Doctor, her and Gordy. She was determined to meet him and become his companion." The blonde shook her head. "Can you imagine? It would be a disaster of galactic proportions."

Osgood chuckled. "It would be rather splendid, I think."

"Don't encourage her." Kate warned, kissing the tip of the younger woman's nose. "She's enough of a nightmare as it is."

"Mmm…" Osgood agreed, leaning in to kiss Kate properly. "I think she's under the impression that we slept together."

Pulling back slightly, Kate searched the brown eyes staring back at her quickly. "Does that bother you? Would you like me to set her straight?" Osgood was unable to stop herself snorting with amusement at the blonde's turn of phrase and Kate rolled her eyes, swatting her lightly on the shoulder. "Stop it! You know what I meant."

"I do." Osgood agreed. "But I'm not bothered, if you're not?"

"I'm not." Kate assured her firmly, wrapping her arms around the younger woman and leaning down to kiss her again.

"Oh dear God…" Emily announced her reappearance in the kitchen loudly, covering her face with her hands.

"When are you heading back to Manchester?" Her mother asked in mock irritation, arching an eyebrow at her and refusing to let go of Osgood.

"When are you going to put some clothes on?" The teenager retorted instantly.

"It's my house, I'll do what I want." Kate told her childishly.

Osgood looked between them in complete astonishment, not having witnessed this side of her boss and, she thought hopefully, girlfriend before. The blonde's dark eyes were twinkling mischievously as she regarded her daughter and Osgood noticed that Emily, who was smirking back, definitely had her mother's eyes. Kate's grip on her waist tightened and the younger woman instinctively leant into her side.

"So, last night I met up with that waitress from the café." Emily told them as though the past couple of minutes hadn't happened. She opened the bread bin and pulled out a loaf. "Toast?" Kate nodded, answering for both Osgood and herself. "Turns out her ex-boyfriend is on my course at Uni. Small world, huh?"

"So she's straight?" Kate asked, knowing that her daughter had thought she might be in with a chance.

Emily shrugged. "Well… she might have been… not anymore though."

Rolling her eyes, Kate pulled three plates out of the cupboard and motioned for Osgood to take a seat at the kitchen table. The brunette did as she was bid, looking between the Stewarts as though they were an alien species she was attempting to understand. The way they moved around each other instinctively was astonishing to the young scientist who had never been at ease around her own family.

"You're incorrigible, did you know that?"

"Says you." Emily replied, looking pointedly at Osgood.

"That is completely different." Kate informed her airily, placing the butter and a knife on the table and settling herself in the seat beside the younger woman. "That was a totally ill-advised one night stand."

"What and is she your girlfriend now? Shall I start calling her Mum?"

The two women stared at each other with panicked expressions on their faces. They both thought that was a bit early to start labelling their relationship and they hadn't even broached the subject in private, let alone thought about discussing it with Kate's wayward daughter.

"Em…" Kate shook her head warningly and the teenager realised that she had overstepped the mark.

"Sorry…" She murmured, moving her gaze to the slightly bemused woman sitting beside her mother. "I'm really sorry, Osgood. Sometimes I speak without thinking… quite a lot of the time, actually." She ran a hand through her hair. "I should probably go and have a shower…"

As the nineteen-year-old escaped from the room, Kate turned to Osgood with a wince. "I'm sorry… you must be totally regretting this… us. I'll completely understand if you want to call it a day before…"

"Is that what you want to do?" The brunette asked nervously, wondering whether their fledgling relationship was over before it had even started.

"No, of course not. But I would understand if–"

Osgood grabbed her flailing hands tighter and shook her head. "No, Kate. I want you… this… us. Emily didn't mean any harm and we'd have had to talk about it sooner rather than later, anyway. She's just pushed us into it before we were really ready."

Kate furrowed her eyebrows. "Her calling you Mum?"

"No, silly… whether I can call you my girlfriend." Osgood said. Her breezy tone did nothing to disguise the concern in her eyes and Kate sighed, reaching out to cup her face again.

"You can call me whatever you want." She replied, kissing her gently. Then she pulled back and looked at her, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Within reason, of course."

"Of course, Ma'am."


	4. Is It Some Kind of Crisis?

"I don't understand…" Osgood admitted, slowly running her hand up and down one of Kate's legs, which was flung over her lap. "Em's going to her father's for lunch. We just said goodbye. Why would she have any impact on our afternoon at all?"

"My daughter and her father do not see eye to eye on anything." Kate informed her bluntly. "She then feels the need to provide me with a running commentary of everything that he says or does that annoys her." She smirked and caught Osgood's hand, tangling their fingers together. "Trust me, the sound of my mobile pinging every couple of seconds is incredibly distracting."

"I think I'm looking forward to this." Osgood mused, chuckling as Kate groaned and turned to bury her face in the sofa cushions behind her.

' _ **Is it too early to leave yet? xox**_ '

' _ **Yes. x**_ '

"She's been with him for about ten minutes." Osgood laughed. "Surely he can't be that bad? You were married to him, after all."

"Mmm… why do you think I worked such long hours?" Kate replied, making the younger woman furrow her eyebrows slightly as she attempted to work out whether the blonde was serious.

' _ **Oh, God, she's arrived. Apparently my look is 'so on trend' and she'd 'kill for' hair like mine. Hers is bleached to fuck, so maybe I should log a concern with the police? Just in case she tries to shave my head or something… xox**_ '

"Do you think Emily genuinely dislikes these women, or is she just…?"

"What? Trying to make me feel better by seeing the worst in them and pointing it out in her own, delightful way?" Kate raised her eyebrows and smirked. "No, I think she genuinely dislikes them. My Em doesn't suffer fools gladly and it would appear that her father is rather fond of fools."

' _ **I actually think she's an alien. Do you have a database you can run her name through? Erica Atkinson. I honestly think she's worth checking out. xox**_ '

Kate frowned as she read the message aloud to her girlfriend. "I thought his latest was called Izzie?" Quickly sending her daughter a text, asking the same question, Kate waited almost impatiently for the answer.

Osgood watched her curiously, wondering at her girlfriend's interest in her ex-husband's lovers. "Maybe he got bored of her and moved on."

"Wouldn't put it past him." Kate muttered, rolling her eyes.

' _ **Izzie's long gone. I actually miss her… God bless Gym Barbie and all who sail in her. Bagsie I get to be the one to hit her with a bottle of champagne, anyway… xox**_ '

"What?" Osgood laughed in bemusement. "Why's she hitting her with a bottle of champagne?"

"It's what's said and done when a ship is launched." Kate shrugged. "Don't ask me why she's applied the tradition to her father's ex-girlfriend. Unless she's implying that she looks like a boat in some way?"

Unable to stop herself, the younger woman burst out laughing. "That's a brilliant image."

"Apparently his taste in women has changed."

"It's obviously taken a turn for the worst." Osgood replied. "It's like he's traded you in for a much cheaper, less aesthetically pleasing model. I mean, I'm not complaining, because it means that I get his old model." She looked quickly at the blonde. "No, wait… I didn't mean that… it came out wrong. You're not old… you're gorgeous and you're mine. Not in a possessive way…"

"You're so sweet." Kate told her softly, interrupting her rambling and reaching out to fiddle with a strand of the brunette's hair.

' _ **Are you going all UNIT on her ass or what? xox**_ '

' _ **If not, there's a fish knife here that looks like it could do some real damage. If this bitch looks at my hair once more… xox**_ '

' _ **Don't you even think about it Emily Stewart. x**_ ' Kate shook her head as she pressed send on her response to her daughter's threat-laden text.

Osgood arched an eyebrow. "Emily wouldn't really attack her, would she?"

"I wouldn't put anything past my daughter."

"You don't mean that."

Kate sighed. "No, I don't think she would actually stab anyone."

"What even  _is_  a fish knife?" The younger woman asked in confusion.

Her girlfriend laughed softly. "It's just a blunt knife with a slightly broader blade. It would be totally inadequate for stabbing someone, anyway. A steak knife would be far more useful in that situation, but since Daniel became a vegetarian, I'm assuming Emily's options are limited."

"Well that's… reassuring?"

Shifting slightly so that her thighs were covering Osgood's, rather than her calves, Kate reached up and cupped her girlfriend's face with her left hand. The younger woman leant into the touch instinctively. "I'm sorry…"

"What for?" Osgood asked, surprised.

"Dragging you into our drama. You didn't sign up for this."

"There's no need to be sorry. I like it… I like being included… it makes me feel… wanted."

"You are wanted." Kate assured her firmly. "So wanted…"

"Good, because I want you too. And Emily." She furrowed her eyebrows. "That came out wrong as well… you know what I meant. I don't  _want_  Emily… not like I want you."

Chuckling, the blonde pulled Osgood towards her and kissed her softly. "I know what you meant."

As she deepened the kiss, pulling the younger woman down on top of her and allowing her hands to get lost in the soft, brown locks, Kate's mobile pinged again from it's position on the coffee table. Shaking her head as Osgood started to pull away, Kate held her more tightly.

"Leave it."

"What if Emily's actually stabbed her?"

Chuckling against Osgood's lips, Kate shrugged and let one of her hands wander slowly down from its position, tangled in the younger woman's hair, over her shoulder and down her side. When she reached the hem of Osgood's t-shirt, she let her cool fingers slip underneath, delighting in the small gasp and shiver from her girlfriend at the contact.

"Leave it…" She whispered against Osgood's lips.

For a couple of moments the brunette did as she was told, far too focused on lips and tongues and hands to even contemplate thinking about anything else. When the phone vibrated twice more, in quick succession, she sighed and moved, hovering above her girlfriend and sending her a meaningful look.

"You should probably check she isn't on the run."

"I might commit murder myself…" Kate muttered, reaching towards the coffee table and snatching up the handset.

' _ **He's just asked me whether I've found a nice young man yet. I swear he doesn't understand the concept of me being gay. Even when I told him that I'd been seeing a girl. He just said it wasn't the same. Maybe I should draw him a diagram… or get him to watch a couple of episodes of Lip Service? xox**_ '

' _ **I know! Can you and Os drop by and give him a live demonstration? xox**_ '

' _ **Too far? Sorry…you know what he's like. He's just really offensive and ignorant and self-absorbed. xox**_ '

Kate pulled a face as she read the last text aloud. "Oh God…"

' _ **Have you told your father about Osgood? x**_ '

' _ **No, of course not, it's none of his business. Why? xox**_ '

"Kate…?" Osgood chewed her lip, her eyes wide as she asked an unspoken question.

Looking up at the brunette who had pulled herself into a seated position, Kate frowned. She realised at once what Osgood must be thinking and mentally kicked herself. Sitting up as well, the blonde reached for her girlfriend's hands and held them tightly in her own.

"Like Emily said, it's none of his business." Kate told her, running her thumbs softly over Osgood's knuckles. "My ex-husband refuses to acknowledge our daughter's sexuality. He hasn't stopped trying to set her up with various men since she came out. I don't want… he would be vile about you and I… I might do something…"

"I'm a big girl, Kate."

"I'm being selfish, Osgood. I couldn't handle it. I'm sure you'd be able to deal with it much better than me, but… I wouldn't be able to let him get away with whatever snide comments or vicious attacks he might throw at you."

' _ **Mum? Are you alright? Is Os OK? xox**_ '

Osgood reached across and took the phone out of her hands, glancing at the text and hitting reply. She typed the message, but handed it back to Kate before pressing send, allowing the older woman to make the final decision on whether it reached Emily.

' _ **We're fine… better than fine. You can tell him about us. Tell him that neither of us has ever been as happy as we are now. We'll come and collect you later, so anything he has to say on the matter can wait until then. Os xxx**_ '

"Os?" Kate looked at her in confusion. "You're not…?"

"I'm deadly serious." Osgood replied bluntly, she leant forward and smiled. "I meant it; I've never been this happy. I'm not ashamed of us, or worried about what he has to say on the matter. What does his opinion matter, really? What can he do to us? Sure, maybe he can upset us with his words, but he can't do anything else."

"I'm not ashamed." Kate told her quickly. "That's not why I think it's better we don't make it common knowledge, I just…"

"I know that. I understand that keeping things professional at work is the best idea at the moment, for both of us, and, really, I agree. I like this being just about us… no pressure or stupid comments or questions…" She smiled gently. "But this, letting your ex-husband find out, feels like something important… a big step forward."

For a moment Kate's eyes searched Osgood's. Then, chewing her lip nervously, she clicked send. Immediately the younger woman beamed at her and surged forward, threading her fingers through Kate's hair and reconnecting their lips in a fiercely passionate kiss.

' _ **Really? xox**_ '

' _ **Really. x**_ '

"Are you OK?" Osgood asked softly, tracing Kate's bottom lip with her index finger as she watched her.

Kate smiled happily, pursing her lips to place a kiss on the end of her girlfriend's finger. "I'm more than OK."

"I want to know what your ex is saying about us… I'd love to be a fly on the wall."

"You're strange, do you know that?" Kate chuckled, shaking her head at the grin on the other woman's face.

"I know." Osgood replied simply, pecking her on the lips.

' _ **This is priceless… I think his head is going to explode. It's gone a funny colour, anyway… sort of orangey-purple? xox**_ '

' _ **Oh my God. Oh. My. God. xox**_ '

' _ **He literally just asked me if you were having some kind of crisis. 'IS SHE GETTING ENOUGH REST?' I told him that I hoped not because it would be an epic waste of Osgood. xox**_ '

'…  _ **he's choking on his wine. On that note, I think I might leave now… xox'**_

' _ **Don't worry, I won't be back tonight… Gordy hasn't had a visit from his favourite sister for a while ;) xox**_ '

"I knew it would be amusing." The brunette said when Kate read out the texts she had received in quick succession. "But speaking of epic wastes of Osgood…"


	5. Please Don't Tell Mum

Osgood opened one eye and looked around blearily. She had known, before she'd even woken up properly, that Kate wasn't in bed anymore but it wasn't until she'd opened her eyes that she spotted the scrap of paper on the pillow beside her head and the reality actually set in. Yawning and rubbing her eyes, the brunette reached for her glasses on the beside cabinet and unfolded the note.

' _ **Sorry, I've been called into the office – nothing urgent, just the PM getting his knickers in a twist again. I'll see you later – lunch on me. K x**_ '

Smiling fondly, knowing how much Kate hated dealing with the Prime Minister, Osgood swung her legs out of bed and stretched languidly. She yawned again as she padded over to the chair where she had left her clothes the night before and frowned as she remembered that staying over had been an impromptu decision and she hadn't brought any clothes with her. Glancing at the time, she realised that if she hurried she would have time to go home, have a shower and change before going to UNIT HQ.

Going in search of her shoes, which she was sure she'd left somewhere in the vicinity of the living room, Osgood almost screamed as the landline started ringing. The slightly obnoxious lively tune seemed strange and out of place in the silent house and, without thinking, the young woman snatched up the handset in the hallway, more to stop the noise than anything else.

"Hello? Kate Stewart's phone…"

"Oh, Osgood, thank God." A rushed, slightly panicked voice sounded on the other end of the phone and the woman frowned, unable to place it. "My mum isn't there, is she?"

"Emily?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"No… Kate's had to go into work early. You could try her mobile, I'm sure–"

"No, no!" Emily interrupted hastily. "I was hoping you'd answer."

Osgood frowned, wondering why the teenager would have called her mother's house phone and hoped that she would be the one who would answer. As far as the scientist was aware, Emily hadn't even known that she was there; she had been out when they'd come in the evening before and she clearly wasn't back this morning, either.

"OK… Are you alright?"

"Yes. Well, not really… sort of…" There was a pause while Osgood tried to work out what was happening and Emily evidently sorted her thoughts. "Can you come and get me?"

Osgood was completely taken aback by the request and wasn't sure how to deal with it. "Umm… where are you?"

There was a chuckle. "That's why I didn't want to speak to mum… I'm kind of in the police station…"

"What?" Osgood's eyes widened and she ran a hand through her hair. "Why? What happened?"

"I'll explain when I see you… but you cannot tell mum. Please, Osgood. Please, you can't say anything. I just… I need you to come and get me. I'm at Brixton Police Station."

"Brixton?" The brunette demanded. "Why are you in Brixton?"

"House party." Emily replied nonchalantly. "I'll see you in a bit, then."

As the line went dead, Osgood stared at the handset in complete confusion. She really didn't know what to do for the best. Her first instinct was to pick up her mobile and phone Kate; to tell her exactly what Emily had said and where she was. But then she hesitated. The teenager had been so insistent that she didn't tell Kate where she was that Osgood was worried about letting the information slip. She didn't understand why Emily wouldn't have wanted Kate to know; they were close, much closer than Osgood was with her own mother.

After thinking it over while she headed home to fetch her car, Osgood decided that the best she could do was to tell Kate that she was going to pick Emily up, without letting slip where the teenager was. Knowing that if she phoned the older woman she would find it harder not to tell her everything, she sent her a text instead.

' _ **Emily's just asked me to give her lift home… I'm taking this as a sign she approves of me? xx**_ '

It was only a couple of seconds before her phone pinged to alert her to a reply. ' _ **Of course she approves of you. I'd go as far as to say she likes you. Not as much as I do, though ;) x**_ '

Breathing a sigh of relief that Kate hadn't asked where her daughter was and clearly thought there was nothing strange about Emily asking her for a lift, Osgood smiled at the last line of the text.

' _ **Well that's good, because I like you rather a lot as well. xx**_ '

* * *

Heading towards the police station, Osgood's courage was threatening to fail her. She had never, in her whole life, been inside one before and now she had no choice. She had absolutely no idea what the protocol was; would Emily be waiting for her? Or did she have to walk up to the reception desk and tell them she was there to collect Emily Stewart? What if the teenager was in more trouble than she had let on over the phone? Maybe she should have told Kate after all.

Taking a soothing puff on her inhaler, Osgood pushed her way though the double doors and walked into the building. To her immense relief none of the scenes that had been unfolding in her overactive imagination had a chance to become reality as, the second she entered the police station, the beaming face of her girlfriend's daughter greeted her and Emily almost barrelled into her in her haste.

"Thank you so much." The teenager hugged her tightly. "I owe you one."

"Are you allowed to leave?" Osgood asked, confused about police station etiquette. "I mean… can we just walk out?"

"Of course." Emily replied with a shrug. "I'm not under arrest."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Osgood allowed herself to be pulled out of the building by her hand. She indicated the direction of her car when Emily hesitated, trailing along behind the teenager as she strode towards the car park. She was attempting to formulate a question that would answer all of the queries tumbling around in her mind.

"Are you going to explain why I had to come to a police station to pick you up?" She asked finally. Emily wrinkled her nose and didn't look keen to comply. "Come on… it can't be that bad."

"If I tell you then you'll feel like you have to tell my mother and after last time–"

"There was a last time?" Osgood almost stamped on the brake pedal in her surprise, but managed to keep control of her car and not cause any accidents.

"It's not as bad as it sounds…" Emily muttered, putting her booted feet up on the dashboard. Seeing the older woman sending her sideways glances, she sighed and let them drop back down onto the mat. "I got a little bit drunk and there was a slight issue with my ex-girlfriend, so they thought it might be better if I slept it off in a cell."

"Slight issue?"

"I didn't do anything!" The teenager defended herself instantly. "You can ask the coppers or my mates if you don't believe me. Pippa's a psycho… she saw me kissing this other girl and she just went nuts." When Emily tucked her hair behind her ear, Osgood saw the vivid purple bruise along her cheekbone for the first time. "I was only trying to get her off me. Someone called the police and when they turned up they took us both in… I didn't press charges, so they let her go. They kept me in for my own safety, apparently."

Trying to mentally digest the information, Osgood nodded slowly. "So… why don't you want your mum to know? If it wasn't your fault–"

"I don't want her to know, because she worries." Emily informed her simply.

"I'm not comfortable keeping this from her, Emily. She's going to realise something's wrong as soon as she sees your face. I don't want to lie to her."

"It's really not that big a deal." The teenager tried to reassure her. "I mean, you must have kept stuff from your parents when you were my age?" When Osgood simply shot her a look, Emily sighed. "She freaked out, last time, OK? She couldn't believe I hadn't pressed charges and threatened to set UNIT on Pippa… get her locked up for treason or something."

"I can't imagine Kate–"

Emily shrugged. "Well, she didn't quite say it like that, but she made it very clear that no one hurts the people she loves and gets away with it." Shooting the older woman a meaningful look, the girl smiled. "So don't tell her if someone cuts you up on a roundabout or pushes in front of you in the queue at TESCO."

There was a long silence as the scientist pondered her passenger's words. Would Kate really react as strongly as Emily was insinuating for such a minor offence? And did she really feel as strongly about Osgood as the teenager was implying.

"Why do you want to protect her? Your ex, I mean?" Osgood asked curiously after a moment, voicing the only question she felt she could.

"I don't… I want to protect Mum. She can't go around abusing her power just to look out for me, however much she might want to sometimes. I'm a disaster zone; the number of times she's been forced to bale me out already… Besides, I barely ever run into Pippa anymore. She's got her friends and I've got mine; last night was just bad luck."

"You need to speak to your mum about this, Em." Osgood encouraged her gently. "She needs to know… you have to tell her. Explain why you didn't call her… she'll understand, I'm sure. She loves you so much… she'll be devastated if she finds out and you know her; she will find out."

"No." The teenager told her bluntly.

"I'm having lunch with her. Why don't you come with us? I'll be there for moral support if you need it." The scientist suggested.

Emily arched an eyebrow at her. "You are kidding, right? If I crash your date she'll be less than understanding. No, I'll tell her later. She'll be so disgustingly happy and loved up after having lunch with you that she might be less angry with me – and the world in general. I know how to pick my moments."

Osgood chuckled. "You really are your mother's daughter."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to say a MASSIVE thank you to everyone who has read, commented and left kudos on this. It means a lot to know that you're enjoying it and I'm really glad that you are!
> 
> x


	6. Code Amber at a Government Reception (or Osgood Wears a Dress)

Osgood tilted her head slightly to appraise her appearance thoroughly. She hated wearing dresses more than almost anything else, except perhaps spiders, but for Kate's sake she was forcing herself to face that particular fear. She was currently sporting a relatively plain little black dress; or at least that was what she thought Emily, who was back from University for reading week, had called it when she'd taken the scientist shopping for an outfit to wear to the party. What Emily hadn't told her was that she had taken the scientist shopping at her mother's request and in an attempt to get back into her good books after trying to convince Osgood not to tell Kate about her overnight stay in Brixton police station.

It was an official event and Kate had invited Osgood, under the guise of being her personal assistant, to attend with her. At first the younger woman's instinct had been to refuse, as she had every single time Kate had invited her anywhere before. Then she changed her mind, agreeing to accompany her girlfriend to the event. Now, against her better judgement, Osgood found that she was quite excited about the party; especially getting to see Kate all dressed up.

Taking a final deep breath, Osgood left her bedroom and made her way through her flat, turning off the lights and walking through the front door. She shifted from foot to foot as she waited impatiently for the cab to arrive. Kate had decided that, for ease's sake, they should share a taxi to the party which, as Osgood was her PA, was a completely normal thing to happen.

Butterflies erupted in her stomach as a black cab indicated and drew to a halt beside the curb. She pulled herself together, ducking slightly to check it was the car she was expecting, before opening the back door and sliding in beside Kate. The blonde beamed at her, reaching out to cup her cheek before pressing a quick kiss to her lips.

"You look beautiful." Kate said softly, her eyes trailing down her girlfriend's body and causing Osgood to shiver at the expression in her eyes. "You should wear dresses more often."

"I never really have any reason to. Dressing up to go to the supermarket isn't really a thing."

"Then maybe I'll have to take you to places that require you to dress up." The blonde said, making it sound as though it was a definite plan, rather than simply a thought. She tangled their fingers together and squeezed lightly. "Are you sure you're happy to come tonight? I know it's not really your thing."

"If you're there, it'll be my thing." Osgood replied instantly. Then she blushed and hid her face in Kate's shoulder. "That was overly cheesy, even for me."

Kate chuckled, pressing her lips to Osgood's bare shoulder, which was the only part of her she could actually reach. "You're adorable."

As the car drew up outside the hotel where the party was being held, Kate let out a long sigh, pulling a face. Osgood smiled at her, before turning her attention onto the building, only just managing to stop her mouth falling open at the grandness of it. Spotlights, placed at the base of each pillar, illuminated the front and a uniformed man stood beside the revolving doors.

"Wow…"

"Mmm…" Kate wrinkled her nose, clearly not agreeing with her girlfriend's awe. "We'll give it a couple of hours and then make our escape. Deal?"

"Deal." Osgood agreed happily, leaning over to kiss Kate quickly, before opening the cab door.

Kate smiled fondly at her girlfriend as they walked to the ballroom where the event was being held. She resisted the urge to reach out and hold her hand, let alone kiss her, although it was incredibly difficult. Osgood's face was lit up like a child at Christmas and Kate wondered how she had ever managed to resist her before Emily had tricked her into revealing her feelings towards the brunette.

"Don't leave me on my own." Osgood hissed out of the corner of her mouth as they crossed the ballroom, winding their way through the groups of chatting people, towards the buffet table.

"As long as you don't leave me on my own." Kate bartered with a grin.

"Not a chance… especially when you look that good." The brunette smiled. "Not that you don't always look good, because you do. Always…"

Rolling her eyes affectionately, Kate led the way towards a table laden with glasses of champagne, picking up two glasses and holding one out to the younger woman. She smiled as she realised Osgood had been staring at her, apparently appreciatively if the blush was anything to go by. She had chosen her outfit specifically knowing that her girlfriend liked her in red, asking her daughter's advice on which style of dress suited her best. It seemed as though Emily's suggestion of a dress with high neckline but a short skirt, had been the right way to go as Osgood's gaze had barely left her legs since they'd met.

"Ahh, Ms Stewart." Kate sighed and pulled an exasperated face at Osgood, before fixing a wide smile on her face and turning to face the government minister who was bearing down on them. "Lovely to see you again and in such pleasant surroundings."

"You too…" The blonde lied easily. "Have you met my personal assistant, Ms Osgood?"

"I haven't had the pleasure." The man replied reaching out to take Osgood's hand, pressing a kiss to the back of it.

"Minister…" She stuttered, glancing uncomfortably at Kate as he kept his grip on her hand. The blonde cleared her throat, looking meaningfully at their clasped hands and the man let go immediately.

"Call me Simon, please." He told her with a broad smile. "Another drink?"

"Oh, no, thank you, I–" Osgood started, but he cut across her as though she hadn't even opened her mouth.

"You don't mind, do you, Kate?"

"Well, actually, we–"

"Good, good."

Without waiting to hear the end of Kate's sentence, the minister swept Osgood away. Shooting a look of complete desperation over her shoulder at her girlfriend, the brunette found herself standing in the middle of a group of other government ministers with a full glass of champagne being pushed into her hand. She blinked several times as they attempted to draw her into conversation about the state of the economy, before she was led onto the dance floor.

Osgood had absolutely no idea how it had happened, but she was suddenly being twirled around to what she guessed might have been a waltz. Osgood had never waltzed in her life. She also couldn't see Kate anywhere, which was making her nervous. The beautiful blonde in the red dress appeared to have disappeared completely. Her heart sank as she wondered whether Kate had actually left. Then she banished the thought from her mind, knowing that her girlfriend wouldn't do that to her. Kate had to be around somewhere, possibly devising some kind of UNIT emergency, which would allow them to leave the event together as soon as possible without raising anyone's suspicions.

"Ahh, excuse me, Minister, if I may?" A very familiar voice sounded just behind her and Osgood breathed a sigh of relief. At once the man stopped pulling her round the dance floor in response to the interruption "We need to go… code amber."

"Yes. Code amber. OK." The brunette nodded vehemently, hurriedly disentangling herself from the minister's arms and moving to Kate's side. "Very urgent… incredibly important…"

Nodding and turning on her heels, Kate ushered her assistant towards the doors and out into the hotel lobby. She turned and looked at her, eyes wide and apologetic as soon as they were clear of the prying eyes and ears of the other guests. Osgood tilted her head and gazed inquiringly back at her, wondering why she seemed so anxious.

"I'm sorry… I got jealous." Kate admitted in a low voice, wrinkling her nose. "I know it's not particularly attractive making excuses to get you away from other people. I never considered myself to be possessive like that, but–"

"Shush." Osgood ordered firmly, taking the blonde by surprise. "Let's get out of here."

"OK…"

Not needing to be told twice, the blonde strode towards the revolving doors, Osgood close behind her, but not close enough that they were touching. If she allowed herself to get that close, Osgood wasn't sure whether she'd be able to maintain the façade of a simple professional relationship existing between them.

As soon as they were in the back of the taxi, however, the brunette leant over and pressed her lips against Kate's in a passionate kiss. She pulled the clip out of her girlfriend's hair and ran her fingers through it, taking advantage of Kate's low moan to slip her tongue into the older woman's mouth. Their tongues duelled for dominance, as Kate's hand slipped down from Osgood's mouth to cup her breast, squeezing gently.

"Oh, God…" Osgood groaned, pulling away as she realised the cab had stopped outside Kate's house.

They stumbled out of the cab and up the short flight of steps that led up to Kate's front door, barely able to move far enough away from each other to allow them to get into the house without an accident. As Kate struggled to fit her key into the lock, Osgood pressed herself against the blonde's back and peppered kisses up the side of her neck and along her jaw, her hands gripping the older woman's hips tightly. Letting out a long hiss and allowing her head to loll backwards onto Osgood's shoulder, Kate finally managed to open the front door and they almost fell inside.

Pressing her girlfriend firmly against the wall Kate reconnected their lips once more, feeling heat pooling in her abdomen as Osgood moaned into her mouth. Kicking off her heels, Kate took Osgood by the hand and pulled her towards the foot of the stairs. They didn't make it far before they were kissing again, the brunette trapping her girlfriend between her body and the wall as she continued the very thorough exploration of her mouth.

By the time they'd made it to the top of the stairs, neither were wearing shoes, Osgood's dress was lying halfway up the staircase and Kate's was in very real danger of being left behind on the landing. Laughing against the brunette's lips, Kate squeezed her hips gently as she backed Osgood through her bedroom door and kicked it closed behind them.


	7. Bludgeoning Burglars With Shoes

"I tidied up after you." Emily informed her mother innocently when Kate entered the kitchen the morning after the party. The older Stewart narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "I didn't want either of you breaking your necks if you fell over the shoes or dresses this morning."

"Thank you." Kate replied casually, not rising to the bait. "We didn't wake you when we came in, did we?"

"I was out… actually, I was the one in danger of breaking my neck when I got in at four." Emily shrugged. "Did you enjoy the party in the end? Was it as boring as you expected?"

Licking jam off her finger, Kate settled herself at the table beside the teenager. "It was exactly as terrible as I expected. The Minister for Small Business and Enterprise was incredibly taken with Osgood, though. Not that I can fault his taste…"

"You liked the dress, then?"

A smile turned up corner of Kate's lips for a moment, before she regained control of her features. "It was a lovely dress. It really suited her. Thank you for taking Osgood shopping, Em, I know she was really nervous about it, but I think she enjoyed herself in the end."

Emily shrugged, taking a bite out of her toast. "It's fine. I really like Os."

"I'm glad."

"Besides, I kinda had to make it up to both of you after the whole Pippa and police station thing…" Kate shot her a look and the teenager held her hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright… I won't say her name again."

While her mother moved around the kitchen making tea, Emily took the opportunity to watch her closely. There was a lightness about her that the young woman hadn't seen for a long time. In fact, the teenager thought, her mother seemed to be glowing. Kate smiled as she softly hummed along with the radio, reaching over to turn it up and letting the sound of upbeat pop music fill the kitchen.

Catching sight of her daughter staring, Kate narrowed her eyes slightly, tilting her head to appraise her in return. She noted how Emily's lips were curved up in a smile and she seemed, for once in her life, completely at ease. Despite her carefree persona, Kate knew that her daughter struggled sometimes with everything that went on in her head. Emily had once admitted that she felt as though it was her job to keep an eye on Kate and make sure that she didn't get so wrapped up in her job that she forgot she had a family and a life of her own. Somewhere along the line it had become Emily holding herself, Gordy and Kate together in a vague approximation of a family unit.

"What?" Kate asked finally.

"You… you're happy, aren't you?"

Drawing her bottom lip between her teeth, the blonde nodded. "I am. I really am… I don't think I've ever been this happy."

"Good." Emily nodded firmly, standing up and crossing the kitchen to put her plate in the sink. "I'm really happy for you… both of you."

Reaching out, Kate pulled her daughter into her arms, hugging her tightly and pressing a kiss to the side of her head. Emily sank into the embrace at once, burying her face in her mother's neck and clinging to her as she had done when she was a little girl. It was easy, Kate thought, to imagine that her daughter was that small again as she soothed a hand slowly up and down the teenager's back, inhaling the comforting scent of her shampoo.

"This doesn't change how much I love you, though. You know that, don't you, darling?" Kate whispered into her hair. "You and your brother are still my number one priority. It means so much to me that you like Osgood, but nothing can stop me loving you with all my heart."

"I know, Mum." Emily giggled softly. "You're such a soppy cow, you know that?" Her grip on her mother didn't loosen, however. If anything it seemed to tighten. "I love you, too."

Breaking the embrace, Kate placed her hands on either side of the teenager's face and examined her closely, before pressing a kiss to her forehead and moving to flick the switch on the kettle. "I know you're heading back to Manchester tomorrow, so why don't we spend the afternoon together; just me and you, like we used to. I know that we haven't spent much quality time together lately because whatever spare time I have I've been spending it with Osgood."

"I'd like that." Her daughter nodded with a smile.

"Then maybe Gordy and Osgood could join us for dinner?" Kate suggested, glancing quickly at Emily. "Only if that's OK with you."

"Of course it is." The brunette agreed. "Maybe it could be my birthday dinner. I'm not sure whether I'll be coming back in two weeks for my actual birthday because of my exams and everything…"

"Oh…" Kate hadn't considered that she wouldn't see her daughter on her birthday. Gordy's birthday was at the beginning of September and so it had always fallen in the university holidays. With Emily's at the start of May it was inevitable that she would miss it. "Of course…"

"Are you OK?"

Kate nodded and smiled weakly. "I just can't believe my baby is going to be twenty… even though you've been all grown up since I can remember…"

"I'm still your little girl, right?" Emily teased gently, pressing a kiss to her mother's cheek.

"Always."

There was a light cough from the other side of the kitchen door and then it opened, Osgood smiling warmly through the gap as it widened. She had clearly heard the exchange, but obviously hadn't wanted to intrude on the moment. Emily, wanting to put the older brunette at ease, grinned at her. Sending a wink in her mother's direction, the teenager headed for the kitchen door, patting Osgood on the arm as she passed and shutting the door behind her.

"Morning, sweetheart." Kate greeted her girlfriend with a quick kiss and a cup of tea.

"Morning… thanks." Osgood smiled and took a sip from her mug thoughtfully.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, exactly. Well, I don't think so but… It's just that when I passed the bathroom I heard the shower running. If you and Emily were down here…"

Exchanging a look, the two women headed upstairs quickly. As they stood on either side of the locked bathroom door, neither of them had considered the fact that thieves and murderers didn't usually stop to take a shower. Counting silently – Osgood with a shoe in her hand and Kate clutching the standard issue handgun that, as Head of UNIT, she was obliged to take everywhere with her – they prepared to break through the door.

An ominous click met their ears as their countdown reached two and the bathroom door swung inwards. Both Kate and Osgood's mouths dropped open and their eyebrows shot towards their hairlines at the sight of a young woman in the doorway, dressed only in a towel, and dripping water all over the floor. She stared at them open-mouthed, clearly not understanding what was going on any more than they did.

"Ahh…" Everyone turned to look at the source of the apologetic voice, spotting Emily leaning in her doorway looking abashed. "Sorry about that. Mum, Os… this is Claire, Claire… Mum and Osgood."

"Nice to meet you…" Kate said weakly, trying not to stare at the young woman in her bathroom. She extended her hand in greeting, then realised that Claire was clutching the towel around her body tightly and pushed it back into her cardigan pocket hurriedly.

Claire nervously skirted around the two women flanking the bathroom door and scuttled past Emily into her bedroom. As soon as she was safely inside and the door was closed, Kate arched an eyebrow at her daughter and pointed towards the room behind her. Awkwardly, Emily rubbed the back of her neck, wrinkling her nose.

"I didn't realise she would decide to go and have a shower… she was fast asleep when I went downstairs and I was intending to show her out while you two were acting all loved up in the kitchen." The teenager defended herself. "What were you planning to do, anyway? Bludgeon her to death with your shoe?"

"We thought she was a burglar or something." Osgood muttered, glancing at the stiletto in her hand as though only just realising how silly it was.

"Taking a shower?"

Kate frowned. "You could have warned us that you had a… friend… over."

"She's not a friend." Emily replied without thinking. "Well… not as such… I only met her last night."

"So she could be a burglar."

"She's not a burglar."

"How do you know, you only met her last night?"

"I just do, OK?"

"So, do you like her?" Kate asked with a small smile.

Emily shrugged, not remotely fazed by the abrupt change in the tone of the conversation. "Doesn't matter if I did or didn't, now. She's going to run a mile after you two doing your Charlie's Angels routine."

As though having heard her words, Claire opened the door of Emily's bedroom and slipped out onto the landing. She mumbled a few words of thanks, blushing crimson and completely avoiding meeting anyone's eyes as she did so, said goodbye and almost ran down the stairs. Seconds later they heard the front door bang closed.

"Told you." Emily muttered.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart." Kate apologised with a wince.

"No worries." Her daughter shrugged. "I barely knew her, so I didn't like her that much, anyway."

She smiled and went into her bedroom, shutting herself in and turning on her stereo. Heading back downstairs to the kitchen, Kate sighed and closed the door behind them. The faint beat of Emily's music was still audible, almost vibrating through the whole house. Kate had the horrible feeling that her daughter might actually have liked the young woman they'd managed to scare off with remarkable efficiency and she felt terribly guilty about it. Wondering whether she would be able to use her contacts to track Claire down, she jumped as she felt Osgood's arms slide around her waist.

"Don't worry about it." Osgood told her quietly. "You know Emily better than I do and even I know that if she liked that girl she'd have made sure she got her number before she left. Besides, your daughter has got charm oozing out of her little fingers. She'll be able to win her round in no time if she actually wants to."

"You're right." Kate sighed, smiling and leaning forward to press a quick kiss to her girlfriend's lips. "Of course you're right."

"Can I get that in writing?"

Kate chuckled and kissed her again. "Don't push your luck."


	8. An Awkward Birthday Dinner

Osgood had been trying to decide on an outfit to wear for dinner for several hours. She had been tempted to call Emily and ask her advice, but then decided against it. As a grown woman, Osgood thought that she should be more than capable of choosing her own clothes for a meal out with her girlfriend and her girlfriend's children. In reality, though, it was a much more difficult task than she had anticipated.

Kate had texted her almost as soon as she had arrived back at her flat to let her know that Emily had, however reluctantly, invited her father and his girlfriend to join them. Apparently, Daniel had got wind of their dinner plans and demanded to be included. In order to keep the peace, Kate had decided that Emily should invite them along.

That put more pressure on Osgood to find the right outfit to wear to the restaurant. Kate had assured her that she had nothing to worry about and nothing to live up to. That wasn't particularly settling to the scientist, whose mind had gone into overdrive as soon as she had heard the news. The pressure to find the perfect outfit was almost enough to make Osgood call her girlfriend and tell her she wasn't coming after all.

Then she thought about Kate and how disappointed she'd be if she did decide not to go and immediately dismissed the idea. The blonde's face had lit up when Osgood had agreed to join them for Emily's birthday dinner and the brunette couldn't bring herself to disappoint her. The way Kate's smile had caused her heart to swell in her chest, so she felt as though she might explode with happiness, was an image she didn't want to forget.

Finally, though, Osgood found an outfit that she was happy with. It was smart, without being too much, but casual enough that her companions wouldn't realise just how long she had agonised over her choice. Black skinny jeans were teamed with a simple pale blue blouse and patent heels. Osgood smiled at her reflection in the mirror, pleased with her choice.

She was slightly later leaving her flat than she'd planned and obviously that meant that everything was against her. It took a good ten minutes for Osgood to wave down a cab and then all the traffic lights seemed to be against them. When the taxi finally dropped her off at the restaurant, Osgood took a couple of moments to compose herself before asking where her party were sitting.

With a warm smile, a waiter led her through the room, ushering her towards a table at the very back of the restaurant, tucked away in a private corner, which was more crowded than she had been anticipating. Osgood blinked in complete confusion at the middle aged man and the pretty young blonde who were seated at the table with Kate and her children.

"Hi…"

Emily beamed at the older brunette, before jumping up and drawing her into a tight hug. "Os! I'm so glad you're here."

"Sorry I'm late; traffic was a nightmare. Apparently there are roadworks at the end of my street."

"Don't worry about it!" Emily ordered her firmly. "You're here now." Turning to the people already settled at the table, she introduced the newcomer. "Dad, Lisa, this is Mum's girlfriend, Osgood. Os, this is my dad and his girlfriend."

After greeting them, the brunette made her way hastily to the empty chair at the table. "Lisa? I thought–"

Kate smirked at her, pulling her down into the seat beside hers. "We've already been through this twice. Erica is history and the latest one's called Lisa."

"That must be exhausting!" Osgood whispered, shaking her head slightly. "Just keeping track of their names…"

With a chuckle, the blonde squeezed her girlfriend's thigh under the table. "Tell me about it."

Nervously, Osgood listened to the conversation going on around her, rather than actively participating in it. The weight of Kate's hand on her leg was reassuring and, every so often, the blonde would flex her fingers and squeeze the flesh beneath them, shooting a warm smile at the younger woman at the same time.

The dynamic between the family was fascinating to the scientist. Gordy, who was a man of few words at the best of times, seemed to have very little time for his stepfather and even less interest in the young blonde woman, who no one could deny was attempting to ingratiate herself with both him and Emily. The teenager was apparently doing her best to wind her father up; rolling her eyes at anything his girlfriend said and yawning loudly whenever a subject that disinterested her was brought up. Kate simply seemed amused by the whole thing.

"Behave." Kate hissed at her daughter, almost not meaning it.

"So, Orsgod–"

"Osgood." Emily instantly corrected her father with a frown.

"Sorry, Osgood." Daniel smiled at her, the smile not meeting his eyes. "What is it you do?"

"She's a scientist at UNIT."

"Os can speak for herself, Em." Kate told her gently, squeezing her girlfriend's leg supportively.

When everyone turned and looked at her expectantly, Osgood cleared her throat. "As Emily said, I'm a scientist."

"So Katie's your boss?" Daniel asked, leaning back in his seat and resting his arm along the back of Lisa's chair. "Dating the boss, eh?"

"Oh, shut up." Kate muttered, rolling her eyes in a move that was highly reminiscent of her daughter.

"No, honestly, I'm intrigued." He continued, ignoring the warning tone in her voice. "How did this come about?"

"You want to hear the story of how we got together?" His ex-wife asked in disbelief.

"I'm assuming it's a good story?"

"The ending is." Kate informed him blandly, her grip on Osgood's leg tightening. "But it's none of your business."

Daniel shrugged, his smile still firmly in place. "OK, OK… I get it." There was a momentary pause while the waiters came to remove their empty plates and hand out dessert menus. "D'you know who I bumped into last week? Yvonne and Frank Thomas."

"Who?"

"You know, Yvonne and Frank. We met them on holiday in Turkey."

"Oh, that Yvonne and Frank." Kate nodded slowly. "I remember… they run a recruitment agency?"

"That's them." Daniel agreed. "They were asking how you were and suggested the four of us met up sometime."

Kate snorted. "Well that's not going to happen, is it?"

"I don't see why not, Katie. We could go for a few drinks; relieve old times."

"I don't think so."

"That was a good holiday, though, wasn't it?" Daniel asked clearly keen to remind her of happier times. "Do you remember that couple who sat near us at every meal? What were they called? Boris and Polly?"

Unable to stop herself, Kate snorted with amusement. "The ones who insisted on wearing those garish Hawaiian shirts all the time? They were awful!"

"Boris ate prawns at every meal, didn't he? And wasn't Polly obsessed with taking pictures on that old camera of hers?" He turned to Emily and chuckled. "Don't you remember? She took photos of everything!"

"She even took a photo of that broken chair, didn't she?" The teenager remembered, laughing loudly. "Gord, what did you do to her?"

"Nothing!" He defended himself quickly.

Kate shook her head. "You did! You stole her camera and… oh, what did you take a photo of?"

"The inside of your elbow so that it would look like a bum." Daniel reminded them as Emily burst out laughing and Kate chuckled appreciatively. "I wish I'd been there when she got the prints back."

"Me too." Gordy admitted with a chuckle.

"But you didn't just take one, did you?" Emily reminded him, arching an eyebrow and grinning broadly.

He laughed. "I used up the whole film."

As they continued to reminisce about their holiday, the topic moving on to encompass several other family holidays they had been on, Osgood began to feel incredibly uncomfortable. She smiled weakly whenever anyone turned to look in her direction, but she kept sneaking glances at her watch to work out how much time had passed.

"What can I get you?" The waiter asked, interrupting the conversation and looking around expectantly.

"Profiteroles, please." Emily ordered instantly, sending the man a toothy grin.

"Chocolate fudge cake." Gordy jumped in quickly, as though worried he would be missed out.

"Katie'll have the raspberry roulade and I'll–"

"Excuse me?" Kate's eyebrows almost disappeared into her hairline. "You do not speak for me, let alone order for me. You never did it while we were married and you sure as shit aren't doing it now."

"Sorry, Katie, I just–"

"And you do  _not_  call me Katie." She snapped. "No one calls me Katie. I hate it; I've always hated it."

"I've always called you Katie…" Daniel pointed out with a confused frown.

Kate lowered her voice and glared at him. "I know."

"Oh, snap!" Emily laughed. Then, receiving two furious scowls, she pulled a face and shrank back in her seat. "Soz…"

"I think I'll skip desert, thanks." The blonde announced, gathering her things and standing up. Turning an almost embarrassed smile in Osgood's direction, she tilted her head slightly. "Coming?"

"Of course." The brunette nodded at once, mimicking her girlfriend's actions and grabbing her bag and jacket. Briefly meeting the eyes of everyone else around the table, she looked down again. "Nice meeting you…"

As they stalked away through the tables, they clearly heard Emily's amused remark. "Well that escalated quickly."

Kate didn't speak as they weaved their way through the other patrons of the restaurant and emerged onto the busy London street. Sticking out her arm, the blonde attracted the attention of a passing taxi and opened the door to allow Osgood to climb in first. Telling the driver her address, Kate climbed in and leant against the seats, huffing loudly.

Then she sighed. "Os… I'm sorry."

Osgood blinked. "Sorry?"

"That whole… charade." Kate pulled a face. "I can't believe I put you through that. Daniel is a total…" She shook her head, reaching out and interlinking their fingers. "I'm sorry."

"No need." The brunette told her, more cheerfully than she felt. There was no way she was going to admit how uncomfortable she had felt at the restaurant. "It's fine."

"It's not." Kate exhaled sharply and leant her head against the seat. "I really am sorry. I hate him for what he did to me at the end of our marriage and I cannot stand being in his company, but when he reminds me of the good times, I can't help slipping back into that old routine."

"It's understandable."

"But then I saw the look on your face and… it hurt, Os." The blonde admitted, her eyebrows furrowing. "I realised that that stupid trip down memory lane, remembering a tiny part of what it was really like, was hurting you and undermining our relationship. I was so stupid for not seeing what he was trying to do."

Reaching out, Osgood cupped her cheek gently. "It's fine… Katie."

Arching an eyebrow, Kate turned her head to look at the younger woman closely. Seeing the mischievous glint in her girlfriend's eyes, Kate chuckled and shook her head. "I don't deserve you, Osgood."

"Well, no." The brunette shrugged. "You deserve so much more. You're so out of my league… that's why I was uncomfortable. I kept thinking that you were going to realise what you were missing…"

Kate's hands cupped the younger woman's cheeks with fervent desperation. Her eyes searched Osgood's franticly, looking for something in them to lock on to. Leaning forward, she rested her forehead against her girlfriend's sighing deeply, before shaking her head.

"That was never going to happen, Os. Never. I love you."

"I love you too." Osgood replied, almost reflexively.

"Os…" Kate pulled away and looked at her seriously. "I mean it. I love you."

"And I love you."

"I'll be yours for as long as you'll have me."

"Forever, then." Osgood told her simply, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Please don't ever say you don't deserve me again." Kate almost begged. "It's so far from true that it's painful." When her girlfriend simply pressed a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth in response, the blonde smiled. "Now, can we please just go and curl up on the sofa and pretend tonight never happened?"


	9. Moving Day

"Put that big one over there." Emily ordered, pointing her finger towards the last clearly visible empty space, just inside the living room door. "Not that we have much choice about where to put it, do we?"

In between the furniture that was always there, large cardboard boxes that were dotted around the room already took up the vast majority of the room. Each box was carefully taped closed and labelled in Osgood's neat, if a little difficult to decipher, handwriting. From Kate's position in the middle of the sofa, there seemed to be some order to the chaos that had overrun the large, mid-terrace townhouse, but at that particular moment it was rather difficult to see.

"Are you sure that's the best place to put it?" The blonde asked slowly, peering over the top of her glasses at the pair in the doorway, her legs curled up safely underneath her and out of the way.

"Yes, Mum." Emily rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips as she stared at the older woman. "You could come and help us if you're that worried about where we're positioning the boxes."

The blonde sighed apologetically. "I would if I could, but I'm up to my eyeballs. If I don't file these budget reports by close of play tonight then the Prime Minister may make good on his threat to cut–"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever you say Brigadier Stewart." The younger brunette shrugged, glancing sideways at her mother's girlfriend. There was a mischievous glint in her eyes that told Kate that she was just joking around, not that Osgood seemed to have noticed it yet. "We get it, don't we, Os."

"I'm sure your mother–"

"You are allowed to say she's lazy, you know. Just because you're moving in it doesn't mean that you've got to whitewash over her massive faults."

"I am not lazy!" Kate called, throwing the closest cushion in her daughter's direction. "I'm incredibly busy and important." With a mock-offended sniff, she tilted her head slightly, jutting her jaw. "And I do not have any faults, massive or otherwise, thank you very much."

"OK, Mum. You think that if it makes you happy."

The cheeky grin and wink Emily shot her reassured Kate that her daughter was only messing around. With a half-heated harrumph, the blonde returned her attention to the spreadsheets and other important looking documents on the screen in front of her. Emily had snuck a glance over the back of the sofa and had to admit that she wouldn't like to swap places with her mother for anything. She would much rather move boxes around than tackle whatever completing those forms entailed.

For a long while, the commotion continued in the periphery of Kate's awareness, but she kept her mind focused on her work. The soft conversation taking place between the two other women washed over the blonde, filling her with a sense of contentment as she half-listened to her girlfriend and her daughter laughing and joking together. It was only when a question from the teenager caught her attention that she looked up and caught the complete confusion on her daughter's face.

"What the hell are… fwnpuis?"

Osgood frowned as well, her eyebrows furrowing as she leant over Emily's shoulder to read the word she had scrawled on the top of the cardboard box. "Jumpers."

"No way! That does not say jumpers." Emily retorted with a snort. "That definitely says fwnpuis."

"Oh, shush, Em. It says jumpers."

"You can't even see it from there, Mother." The younger woman argued, putting the box down so that she could fold her arms.

"I've deciphered enough of Osgood's reports and notes and various other handwritten bits and bobs to know that, whatever you think it might say, if Osgood says it says jumpers, it says jumpers." Kate responded calmly, pushing her glasses up to sit on the top of her head.

"Well, all I'm going to say is that you wanna make sure you write the shopping lists, Mum, otherwise you're gonna end up with some truly bizarre things in your cupboards."

"I think I'm a little bit offended…" Osgood muttered, looking between the mother and daughter quickly.

"Oh, do shut up, darling." Kate sighed, closing the lid of her laptop and picking her way carefully across the room. She swatted Emily lightly on the arm. "Come on, where can I start?"

With Osgood directing them, they managed to sort out the different boxes and move them to the right locations. Emily made a big deal over the fact that she was not helping to unpack anything destined for the bedroom, laughing at the blush that spread quickly over Osgood's face and the exasperated expression that crossed her mother's. When Kate exhaled sharply and pinched the bridge of her nose, Emily decided to leave them to it and darted down the stairs, calling out that she was going to make a start in the study.

"I'm sorry. This is the main downside of moving in with me; constant exposure to my daughter." Kate sighed, reaching out to squeeze her girlfriend's bicep gently.

"It's fine." Osgood assured her with a warm smile. "You know I love Em, however irritating she can occasionally be."

A faint 'I heard that!' could be heard from downstairs and the two women exchanged a grin, before throwing themselves into unpacking the bedroom boxes quickly.

* * *

Kate had finally had enough of the twenty-year-old's involvement in their day when, pausing as Osgood bent over to search through one of the boxes, Emily made a comment about where her mother's gaze was lingering. Half irritated, half embarrassed, Kate muttered under her breath before sending her daughter a sarcastic smile and shutting the lid of the laptop once again.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be, Emily?" Kate asked, giving up on the idea of getting any work done with her daughter around and boxes still left to unpack.

"Nope."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup."

"Well… can you find somewhere else to be?"

The brunette pulled her most offended expression. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

Kate arched an eyebrow. "Yes, I am."

"Fine. I wanted to go and see Dani anyway."

Emily was almost at the door before Kate digested what she'd said. "Wait? Em? Who's Dani?"

With an infuriatingly smug smirk and an exaggerated wink, her daughter paused momentarily in the doorway. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

There was the sound of keys jangling and then the bang of the front door, before a calm silence descended over the house. Seconds later, Kate's mobile vibrated against the surface of the coffee table and the blonde glanced at it, seeing that the message was from her daughter. Opening it quickly, Kate exhaled sharply as she read the single word, ' **Ha!** ', before replacing the handset on top of her, now hibernating, laptop.

"You didn't have to kick her out, you know." Osgood pointed out with a small smile. Then she tilted her head and chuckled in amusement. "If you wanted to stare at me you could have just asked, you know?"

"Ha bloody ha." Her girlfriend replied, stepping towards her.

Reaching out, Kate grasped Osgood's hips and squeezed tightly. She tugged, pulling the younger woman towards her until she was flush against her body. Instantly the blonde saw her girlfriend's eyes darkening and Osgood's gaze flicked down to Kate's lips as her tongue darted out to wet her own in expectation. Kate smiled and leant in, putting the brunette out of her misery and placing a long, languid kiss on her lips. As Osgood attempted to deepen the kiss, Kate pulled back, feeling her heart contract at the disappointed groan that escaped the younger woman at the loss of contact.

"You know what they say about moving into a new house… you have to christen every room for good luck." She murmured huskily, dragging her lips along Osgood's jaw to the sensitive spot behind her ear.

"This isn't a new house for you and… ahh… it's not like I haven't… I haven't been here before."

Kate pulled away, frowning at the brunette. "So you don't want to–"

"I didn't say that." Osgood told her quickly, moving her hands up from Kate's waist to pull the clip out of the blonde's hair so that she could run her fingers through it. "I was merely pointing out that–"

"Shh." Kate ordered her, kissing her firmly and starting to back her across the living room towards the hall door.

Rather than leaving the room, however, she pressed her girlfriend up against the wall, still kissing her fiercely.


	10. Operation Birthday!

 

Osgood kept her bright smile firmly in place as Kate rushed around the living room grabbing the things she would need for the day. The delicious breakfast the brunette had made her girlfriend in honour of her birthday had made Kate late enough that she didn’t question the fact that Osgood hadn’t decided to join her at UNIT Headquarters on her day off. Instead, the younger woman was sitting calmly on the sofa, watching her girlfriend hurrying around gathering her belongings.

 

With a brief kiss on the cheek, Kate left the house, letting the front door bang shut behind her. The second she was gone, Osgood was on her feet and heading into the kitchen to begin the first stage in Operation Birthday. A couple of minutes later, the front door opened again. Osgood froze for a moment, holding her breath.

 

“Os? It’s just me. She’s gone, right?”

 

“I’m in the kitchen!” Osgood shouted back, straightening up with an armful of bowls and various other implements. “I hope you’re prepared for this. Baking is a serious business.”

 

“You are kidding, right?” Emily asked, arching an eyebrow and looking eerily like her mother. “It’s just cake. Some flour, butter, a few eggs… maybe some coco powder. Bam. Done.”

 

With a chuckle, the older woman shook her head and turned back to the kitchen table, which was almost impossible to see under the mountain of ingredients and equipment. “An ordinary Victoria sponge, yes. But we’re going to make Kate’s favourites; Irish cream tiramisu, lemon meringue and macarons.

 

“Wait… what?” The young woman looked terrified at the prospect. “I’m not sure I–”

 

“Don’t panic; it’ll be alright. I’ve got my Nigella and my Mary… we’ll be absolutely fine.” Osgood assured her, holding up two recipe books. “As long as we follow the wisdom held in these pages, the deserts will be perfect.”

 

“You’re so weird…” Emily shook her head, pulling the Mary Berry book out of her grasp. “Tell you what, you do the cooking, I’ll do the decorating.”

 

Immediately Osgood’s head shot up and her eyes narrowed. “Decorating? What do you mean decorating?”

 

“We can’t have a party without some decorations.” The girl shrugged. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to blow up dozens of balloons or put up a piñata or anything. I’m just talking a few birthday banners… maybe moving some of the furniture out of the way to make a dance floor.”

 

“A dance floor? How many people have you invited, Em?”

 

“Not many… Gordy and his new girlfriend, your parents, your sister and her family, a couple of mum’s friends…”

 

“My parents? My sister?” Osgood pulled a face. “Why did you invite them?”

 

Emily grinned. “They’re basically my step-grandparents, right? They should start coming to the family occasions.”

 

“Please don’t scandalise them.” With a deep sigh, Osgood shook her head. “I don’t think my mother would cope very well with most of your anecdotes.”

 

“I promise I’ll be on my best behaviour.” She replied with a chuckle. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”

 

“No you don’t!” Reaching out, the older woman grabbed her stepdaughter by the arm and tugged gently until Emily was standing beside her. “You’re going to help me with this. We’re going to bond over sieving and piping.”

 

Emily groaned, but allowed herself to be tied into an apron and manoeuvred to stand at the kitchen table. The next few hours passed in a blur of flour and coco powder and rather a lot of good-natured bickering. Osgood got frustrated when Emily seemed incapable of following the simplest of instructions and Emily couldn’t resist sampling almost everything that Osgood handed her. When, after being chided for the third time, the older woman caught sight of her licking the wooden spoon yet again, Emily sighed deeply and prodded her in the ribs with the handle.

 

“You’re the one who wanted me to help.” She pointed out childishly.

 

“Yes, help… not eat all the ingredients.”

 

“They’re tasty!”

 

“They’ll be tastier still when they come out of the oven.” Osgood reminded her with a fond smile. “Now… washing up.”

 

With another theatrical groan, the younger woman attempted to side step her stepmother and escape from the kitchen. Osgood was faster, blocking her route and handing her the dishcloth firmly. They made a big dent in the washing up quickly and soon the kitchen was back to its usual, pristine state.

 

They were just sitting down to a cup of tea when the timer on the oven pinged. Swatting Emily away, Osgood managed to pull the deserts out and set them aside to cool. She had given in to the younger woman's demands that they also make a chocolate cake, although she had made it very clear that the decorating would be left up to her; Osgood wasn’t a sprinkles and edible glitter type of girl.

 

“Right… now you have to come and help me decorate the living room.” Emily announced as soon as Osgood was satisfied that her creations were cooling properly. At the expression of abject horror on the scientist’s face, she laughed loudly. “Come on! It’ll be fun!”

 

With an expression that said that Osgood thought that decorating for the party would be anything _but_ fun, she allowed herself to be propelled into the living room and directed to push the sofa back against the wall. She raised her eyebrows, watching as the armchairs promptly followed suit and then the coffee table was carried out into the conservatory. Opening her mouth to speak, Osgood promptly shut it again as Emily stood in the middle of the room and spun slowly on her tiptoes, surveying the scene.

 

“Do you think we could move the bookcases?” She mused. “I mean… books about chess and Cold War strategy and gardening are hardly party standard, are they?”

 

“No, Emily. No… we are not moving the bookcases.”

 

“But it's–”

 

“No.”

 

“You are no fun.” She huffed. Then a grin split her face and she leapt across the room, grabbing a pile of papers off the TV stand and handing them to Osgood. “What d’you think? She’ll hate it, right? But in a totally ‘that’s hilarious’ way?”

 

Peering down at the papers in her hands, Osgood couldn’t help but agree that Kate would indeed hate the little surprise her daughter had arranged for her. It was, however, hilarious.

 

Emily had obviously raided the family photo albums for as many embarrassing photos of her mother as she could find and photocopied them, blowing them up into posters. There were childhood photos with tiny, wild-haired Kate grinning at the camera with various teeth missing. There were teenage photos of Kate sporting several questionable hairstyles and outfits. There were later photos of Kate with her children although, Osgood noted with interest, no photos of her ex-husband. She smiled fondly, spotting several very familiar photographs of herself and Kate.

 

“So? What do you think?”

 

“I think it’s lovely.” Osgood told her sincerely, smiling at the girl. “Kate’ll hate it and love it at the same time.”

 

“That’s what I thought.” Emily nodded. “Right… let’s get decorating then.”

 

They were just balancing on the arms of the armchairs, attempting to blu-tack the happy birthday banner high on the wall above the fireplace, when the front door opened. Emily and Osgood exchanged a panicked look, carefully dropping down to stand on the floor and staring towards the hall. They were thankful that they had thought to close the door that linked the two rooms.

 

“Shh!” Emily cautioned, putting her hand over Osgood’s mouth as Kate called her name. Nodding slowly, the older woman motioned that she wasn’t going to reply and Emily dropped her hand to her side.

 

After a couple of moments of banging around, they heard Kate sigh loudly and emit a string of rather creative swear words, before the door opened and banged shut again. Wriggling slightly to pull her phone out of the pocket of her jeans, Osgood pulled a face as she realised she had missed several texts from her girlfriend, which explained why she was there.

 

‘ **Did I leave my glasses in the hallstand? x** ’

 

‘ **Os? x** ’

 

‘ **I’m guessing you’re busy… x** ’

 

‘ **I’m going to pop home and look for them. Might I see you? x** ’

 

Wincing, Osgood showed the texts to Emily; careful not to let her read any of the previous messages from her mother. It wasn’t that there was anything that would be particularly scarring to the young woman, but neither was Osgood about to give her any further information on her relationship with Kate.

 

“She’s not going to be happy that I ignored her.” Osgood murmured.

 

Emily shrugged. “She’ll get over it when she sees what we’ve been doing.” She motioned around them with a flourish. “Now… cake decorating time!”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Did you get Grace’s children to help you with the decorating?” Osgood’s mother asked, looking at the chocolate birthday cake sitting on the side, liberally decorated with white chocolate stars and multi-coloured sprinkles.

 

Osgood snorted with amusement, catching the outraged expression on Emily’s face as her mother mentioned her sister’s children. “No, Mum, it was–”

 

“We got it like that.” Emily told her bluntly. “It’s cool… the handmade look.”

 

“Ah…” Ruth nodded slowly, not looking as though she understood the concept. “What time are we expecting Kate?”

 

“Any moment now.” Osgood replied, her eyes sparkling instinctively at the mention of her girlfriend. “She should have left the tower about half an hour ago.”

 

“Then there’s just enough time for Emily to fill me in on her summer plans.”

 

Shooting Osgood a pleading look, the twenty-year-old was powerless to resist as her newly acquired grandmother propelled her away in the direction of her husband, ready to pump her for information about how she was planning to spend the months before beginning her next year at university. Chuckling lightly, knowing that Emily didn’t really have any plans apart from hanging out with her friends and possibly finding herself a part-time job in a café or something, Osgood kept herself busy, refilling the bowls of snacks around the room.

 

She glanced at her watch every now and then, wondering how long Kate was going to be. When the time she should have arrived home came and then went, with no sign of the blonde, Osgood started to worry. Pulling out her mobile, she checked for any message to explain why her girlfriend was absent, but there was nothing.

 

“I’m just going to…” She waved her mobile meaningfully in the air, wordlessly explaining where she was going, before slipping out into the back garden and pulling the door shut behind her.

 

“Oh, thank God!”

 

Barely managing to stop herself screaming, Osgood whirled on the spot and found herself face-to-face with the woman she had spent the last twenty-five minutes worrying about. Putting a hand to her chest, feeling her racing heartbeat beneath her palm, she arched an eyebrow questioningly at Kate, who had the good grace to look apologetic.

 

“Sorry, Os.” She winced. “I saw your parents’ car on the drive and looked through the window. I was about to text you.”

 

“I know you’re not a fan of parties or people making a fuss of you, but Emily thought this would be nice.” Osgood explained quickly. “We wanted to do something special for your birthday.”

 

“I really didn’t need anything like this. I would have been perfectly happy with a home cooked meal, some decent wine and something good on the telly.”

 

Osgood smiled. “I know you would, but that’s what we do every night. We needed to at least do something to mark the occasion. It’s not every day you turn–”

 

“Nope, shhh!” Kate put her hand over Osgood’s mouth, preventing her from saying the dreaded ‘f’ word. She had banned all mentions of her age. “You know you’re not allowed to say it.”

 

Grinning, the brunette kissed the fingers over her mouth, before tugging them out of the way. “Sorry, sorry.” She glanced towards the kitchen door. “Now, are you ready to face your public?”

 

“I don’t think so.” Kate said childishly, wrinkling her nose.

 

“Well, tough.” Her girlfriend laughed. “Emily has put a lot of effort into this party. Please compliment her on the cake; I think my mother actually deeply offended her when she asked if Grace’s children decorated it.”

 

Letting out a loud bark of laughter, Kate shook her head. “Poor Em.”

 

“Poor Em indeed.” Osgood agreed. “Now, come on… I want to get this party over and done with so I can give you your present.”

 

Kate arched an eyebrow. “I’m assuming that means you can’t give it to me in front of everyone?”

 

Osgood blushed crimson at the thought. “I don’t think that would be a good idea, no.”

 

“I think I’m going to like it very much, then.” Kate told her, linking their fingers and allowing herself to be pulled into the house.


	11. Kate is Jealous and Osgood is Oblivious

“… and this is where I leave you.” Osgood announced, pausing in the hallway and motioning to the office door in front of her. “Ms Stewart’s office.”

 

“Thank you.” The young woman smiled brightly, reaching out to lay her hand on Osgood’s arm. “I’m absolutely useless with directions and this place is like a maze. I have no idea how you can possibly find your way around. It’s a good job I’m a munitions expert, not a cartographer!”

 

“Maybe if you were a cartographer you’d be better at finding your way around.”

 

Laughing loudly, the blonde flipped her hair over her shoulder and laid her hand on the other woman’s arm again. “Perhaps you’re right, Osgood. Maybe you could show me around later? I don’t think I’ll ever master getting around UNIT otherwise.”

 

“I’m sure I can find a spare half hour.” The scientist agreed good-naturedly. “I know it seems a bit like a rabbit warren, but it’s not really so confusing once you get used to it.”

 

They both turned their attention to the office door as it opened suddenly, Kate looking coolly between the two younger women loitering in the corridor. Osgood immediately smiled warmly at her girlfriend, but the expression fell slowly from her face at the realisation that Kate was less than happy about something. Her eyebrows were furrowed over her slightly narrowed eyes and her lips were pinched into a near-scowl.

 

“Fiona Carson.” The woman Osgood had delivered to her commanding officer introduced herself, holding out her hand in greeting, apparently completely oblivious to the older woman’s bad temper. “I’m so sorry I’m a little late, Ms Stewart. As I was just telling Osgood, here; following directions is not my forte and the woman at the reception desk spoke so quickly I was completely lost after the second left turn. Luckily my guardian angel found me wandering around in a panic and took pity on me.”

 

“Ah, Miss Carson.” Kate nodded, shaking the outstretched hand. Her countenance lightened a little, but she still seemed to be deeply annoyed about something. “Yes, I’ve been expecting you.” Turning to the scientist, she smiled tightly. “Have you finished the report on the electromagnetic conductivity of the sphere that landed in Kent on Tuesday?”

 

“Very nearly, Ma’am, I just need to–”

 

“On my desk by two, please, Osgood.” The Head of UNIT requested, stepping aside and ushering the younger blonde into her office. “Thank you.”

 

Blinking in confusion, Osgood stared at the now closed office door and tried to work out what had just happened. The blinds were down over the glass panels on either side of the wooden door and there was no way she could see what was happening inside. Wondering whether Kate had been forced to deal with the Prime Minister, or the threat of even more budget cuts, before their arrival, Osgood headed back to her laboratory to finishing running tests on the metallic sphere so that she could complete the report her boss had asked for.

 

She buried herself in her work and didn’t realise that her lunch break had come and gone until Malcolm placed a neatly wrapped baguette beside her notebook on the workbench. She smiled gratefully, taking a large bite as she put the final touches to her report and began ordering her papers, tucking them neatly inside the folder ready to give to Kate.

 

“Rather you than me.” McGillop told her as she walked towards the door.

 

“Why?” Osgood frowned, unsure what he could possibly mean by that.

 

“Apparently Stewart’s in a terrible mood.” He replied, smirking as his colleague instinctively frowned at him for the, slightly less than respectful, use of their commanding officer’s surname. “Johnson in Lab C said that she almost bit his head off when he asked her about the grant they were promised for their research into sustainable off-world technologies. He said that she told him that if he was that bothered about the grant he could go and ask the Minister of State for Energy about it himself, if not he could get on with the job he’s being paid to do.”

 

“That seems perfectly reasonable to me.” Osgood defended her girlfriend, managing to keep the grimace of her face. “She’s under a lot of pressure at the moment to keep expenditure and costs down.”

 

“Right… so it has nothing to do with the new munitions expert you showed to her office this morning?”

 

Osgood frowned. “Why would it? Miss Carson apologised for being late and Kate accepted her apology.”

 

“Johnson said she was absolutely gorgeous.” McGillop said with a sly grin.

 

“Johnson should learn to keep his mouth shut.” She muttered, opening the laboratory door. “I’m going to hand in this report. I’ll check the output on the quantum coherence plasma modulator on the way back. Malcolm said the readings were a little high during this morning’s observation.”

 

McGillop chuckled, shaking his head and returning his focus to the slide under his microscope. “You do that, Osgood.”

 

Furrowing her eyebrows in irritated confusion, the female scientist left the room and headed along the corridor towards Kate’s office. Changing her mind, she headed towards the canteen, deciding to take her girlfriend coffee in the hopes of brightening her mood a little. On impulse, she picked up a couple of chocolate brownies as well.

 

“The Kent sphere report you requested.” Osgood announced after hearing Kate calling her into her office.

 

“Thank you.” The blonde nodded curtly.

 

Smiling, the scientist placed one of the takeaway cups and one of the brownies on the desk. “I thought you could do with a caffeine and sugar hit.”

 

Kate barely glanced away from her computer screen long enough to acknowledge them. “That was very thoughtful of you.”

 

Unsure how to proceed from there, slightly wary of the tension that was radiating off her girlfriend, Osgood cleared her throat nervously. Kate looked up, peering at the brunette over the thick black rims of her glasses, evidently waiting for the younger woman to say something. When Osgood was not forthcoming with another statement or request, she sighed deeply.

 

“Was there anything else, Osgood?”

 

“No, I…. no, Ma’am.”

 

“Well,” Kate returned her attention to the monitor, “I am rather busy this afternoon. Thank you for the coffee and the brownie.”

 

Totally confused by what could possibly have caused the coldness with which she had been received, Osgood slowly backed out of the office pulling the door closed behind her. Part of her thought that maybe she should try and work out what was wrong with her girlfriend, but another part hoped that if she pretended nothing was happening it would all go away. Knowing that burying her head in the sand wouldn’t solve anything, Osgood sighed and reluctantly resolved to try and figure it out.

 

After casting through her brain to make sure she hadn’t missed a birthday or anniversary or any other event that would have annoyed Kate, Osgood finally gave up and admitted that her scientific mind was perhaps unqualified for this particular problem. Pulling out her mobile, she selected the number she needed from her favourite contacts and hit the call button.

 

“I need your help… Café Rouge by the Tower in twenty minutes?”

 

* * *

 

Twenty minutes gave her just enough time to run the observations on the quantum coherence plasma modulator and note her findings in the file, before grabbing her coat and bag and heading towards the café. Emily was already sitting at a table when she arrived, two drinks sitting on the surface between the comfortable armchairs.

 

“What’s wrong with her?” Emily asked with a knowing smirk, setting her mug down and looking at Osgood closely. “What symptoms is she displaying?”

 

“Hmm?” The older woman tried to play innocent, pretending she didn’t know what the teenager meant.

 

Emily rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, Os. You need my help, probably because Mum is being weird and you don’t understand why.”

 

“Well, that’s… perhaps…”

 

“Right. So, what’s she said or done that made you think there’s a problem?”

 

“Um…”

 

The twenty-year-old sighed, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees. She fixed Osgood with a look that made the scientist feel reassured and nervous all at the same time. Emily smiled, reaching out and patting her stepmother on the knee; probably in the same way that she would pat a dog’s head, Osgood thought to herself.

 

“You talk, I’ll listen.” Emily offered. “To be honest, Os, I think that once you start you’ll be able to figure out what the problem is by yourself. Sometimes you just need a sounding board before you can see what’s going on.”

 

“Right.” Osgood nodded slowly. “OK. She was absolutely fine this morning… on the way to work she was shouting at the radio because the Prime Minister was making a speech about the defence budget and–”

 

“And we all know what Mum’s like on that subject.” Emily finished the sentence for her with an understanding nod.

 

“Then… we walked in together. We had a short conversation with Reg on the gate about his wife’s retirement party. She’s been working for Natwest for fifty years now! Would you believe that? I can’t imagine ever working for a bank–”

 

“Focus, Os.”

 

“Yes. Sorry. Right…” The scientist screwed up her face as she thought carefully. “We walked to her office and I said goodbye. She was supposed to be on a conference call with Sam Bishop in Australia at ten. I didn’t see her again until I took Fiona down to her office at about half past eleven. She came out of her office and saw us. That was when she was in a bad mood…”

 

Emily arched an eyebrow. “Fiona?”

 

“New munitions expert. She was supposed to be meeting Kate, but she got lost. I found her in the West corridor so I took her down. I wanted to speak to Kate anyway, but then she just asked me for a report I was working on and shut the door on me.”

 

“This Fiona? What’s she like?” The younger woman asked meaningfully.

 

Osgood furrowed her eyebrows. “Well, she’s a munitions expert so I’m assuming–”

 

“No, I mean…” Emily widened her eyes and leant forward a little. “What is she _like_ …?”

 

“I don’t know… blonde… about five foot four… symmetrical?”

 

“Symmetrical?” Emily burst out laughing at the assessment. “You’re hilarious, Os.”

 

“What? Scientifically, symmetry is one of the key factors in assessing attractiveness.” Osgood explained.

 

“So she’s attractive?”

 

“According to McGillop.”

 

Emily arched an eyebrow, a smirk playing about her lips. “And according to Osgood?”

 

“She wasn’t… unattractive.”

 

“No,” she grinned, “she’s symmetrical.”

 

“Scientific findings have demonstrated that symmetry is a visual cue for attractiveness in humans.” Osgood told her, falling back on her extensive scientific knowledge as a defence; relying on facts and figures always put her back in her comfort zone. “In fact, the Evolutionary Advantage View proposes that symmetric faces are attractive because symmetry is directly linked to how healthy a person is. Our genes are designed to develop symmetrically, while disease and infections during physical development cause asymmetries. That means that the people who have the strongest immune systems have the most symmetrical physical traits. There was a study in 2003 that found that–”

 

“Loving the lecture, Os, but I’m not particularly interested in why I find people hot.”

 

“Oh, it’s probably not why _you_ find people attractive. Studies show that there isn’t as much effect on same-sex faces, mainly because opposite-sex faces are an example of mate-choice relevant stimuli.

 

“Right, are you just boring me with evidence because you have something to hide, or–?”

 

Osgood frowned in confusion. “Why would I have something to hide?”

 

“Age?”

 

“You know I’m thirty-six.”

 

“No, Os, _her_ age. Symmetrical Fiona.”

 

“Oh… about the same… mid to late thirties?”

 

“Ah…”

 

“Ah?” Osgood frowned at her stepdaughter. “Em, you’ve got to help me out here.”

 

Chewing her lip, Emily made herself more comfortable in her chair. “I think there may be a combination of factors behind Mum’s bad mood.”

 

“What factors?”

 

“Well… I might have accidently called her old this morning when she was feeling a little bit insecure about the age difference between you and her.” The younger brunette admitted. “She was commenting on the age gap between Dad and his latest bimbo girlfriend and I pointed out that the age gap between you and her is nearly the same.” She winced. “I didn't mean to… it just… came out.”

 

“But why would–?”

 

Emily sighed deeply. “She’s obviously jealous, Os.”

 

“Of who?” Osgood asked in confusion.

 

Rubbing her forehead tiredly, the girl tried to work out how to explain the situation to the clearly oblivious scientist. Emily knew that Osgood would never look at anyone else and probably had no idea that her actions had caused alarm bells to ring in Kate’s mind. It would have been easier if she could explain things to her mother herself, but Emily knew that it had to come from Osgood. She would just have to coach her through the situation and hope for the best.

 

“Right… imagine you’re a normal person.” She started, raising her hand to stop Osgood arguing. “Your ex-husband was a cheating shit who left you for a woman practically half his age. Your current, much younger, girlfriend who, bless her, is totally oblivious to most social norms, is accidentally flirting with a hot woman her own age on the same day as your totally thoughtless daughter accidentally called you old.” She shook her head. “Imagine what’s going through Mum’s mind now?”

 

“So Kate’s jealous of… Fiona?” Osgood frowned. “I don’t even know her.”

 

“It’s not a rational thing.”

 

“But I would never… I love her.”

 

“I know that. She does too… she’s just… worried.”

 

“So, I should…” Osgood trailed off, looking to the other woman for confirmation of what she was thinking.

 

“You should remind her.” Emily nodded. “Just… go and put her mind at ease. She’s not unreasonable, she’s just been hurt too many times before.”

 

* * *

 

Taking a deep breath, Osgood raised her hand and knocked firmly on Kate’s office door. There was a pause and then she heard the blonde calling her in. Inhaling sharply again, the scientist entered the room, smiling weakly and pulling the door closed behind her.

 

“Yes?” Kate looked at her sharply.

 

“I was wondering what time you were leaving tonight.” Osgood told her, ignoring her girlfriend’s frown and smiling warmly. “I’ve booked a table at our restaurant and I thought that–”

 

“What?” If the brunette wasn’t very much mistaken there was fear in Kate’s eyes. “Why?”

 

“I thought it would be nice?”

 

“Nice?”

 

Sighing, Osgood decided to do the one thing that Emily had warned her not to do. Moving further into the room, she rounded the desk and perched on the tiny space that was free of coffee mugs and papers and various other bits of paraphernalia that Kate had collected to litter up her surface. The blonde looked at her curiously, finally twisting in her seat so that she was looking at her girlfriend rather than the computer screen.

 

“Kate… Emily told me that she called you old this morning.” She admitted calmly, spotting the defences rising behind the blonde’s eyes. Deciding that she might as well bite the bullet and get it over with, she took a breath. “You’re not old and I am not remotely interested in Fiona Carson.” At that admission, Kate looked shocked. Osgood chuckled softly. “I’m so oblivious I didn’t even realise that you thought I might be. I was actually thinking about the prototype transmat portal that I’ve been working on while I was bringing her to your office. Did you know that–?” She stopped talking as Kate cleared her throat, a tiny smile playing about her lips now. “Yes, well… anyway. I’m not your ex-husband and I have absolutely no intention of cheating on you with… well… anybody. I’ve loved you for years and I don’t plan to change that. Ever.”

 

“Well, that’s…” Kate looked down at her hands, twisting them in her lap. “Right.”

 

“So… are you going to stop sulking now?”

 

“Sulking?” The blonde looked affronted. “I am not sulking.”

 

“Try telling that to your face.” Osgood told her, grinning.

 

Rolling her eyes, Kate pushed her leg gently. “Stop talking to my daughter.”

 

“So? Are you OK?”

 

Nodding, Kate sighed deeply. “I’m sorry. I should have known that I was being stupid. I just–”

 

“It’s OK, I understand.” Osgood assured her, leaning in and pressing a lingering kiss to her girlfriend’s cheek.

 

Cupping her face, Kate captured the brunette’s lips in a tender kiss. Pulling away, she rested their foreheads together and smiled.

 

“I love you.”

 

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! It's been so long, I'm so sorry! My only excuse is that I struggled with inspiration for a while and my job is MENTAL, so whenever I did have inspiration I had no time :(
> 
> Good news is I've had to spend a couple of days in hospital, so I had a chance to write a couple of chapters! I hope you enjoy them and there aren't too many painkiller-induced mistakes!
> 
> x


	12. She's Definitely Human

“Have you got those reports I asked for on the composition of the latest skyfall over Bristol?” Kate asked, poking her head around the lab door and catching her girlfriend’s eyes.

 

Osgood shook her head quickly. “No, Ma’am, not yet. We’re analysing it as quickly as we can, but there’s a whole new element involved that we’ve never seen before. It shares several properties with the Canslomic metal that we have in the Black Archive, but it’s a brand new molecule arrangement that I’ve never seen before.”

 

“Cansolmic metal?” Kate's eyebrows furrowed and she entered the lab properly, letting the door close behind her. Crossing her arms over her chest, she leant against the workbench and looked at the younger woman intently. “But that’s from Ixieis at the other end of the universe. There’s no way the projected angle that lump of rock came from matches with the known location of Ixieis.”

 

“Exactly!” Malcolm popped up from the other side of the chemical cabinet. If Kate and Osgood hadn’t been used to his sudden appearances they would have jumped at the intrusion, but as it was they merely glanced in his direction. “That’s why it’s such a puzzle. There are also matches with the markers from several other compounds we’ve gathered from different locations.”

 

“But nothing concrete yet?”

 

He shook his head. “Not as such. We’re narrowing it down as quickly as we can.”

 

“I do have something else that might interest you.” Osgood said, swivelling on her chair to face the older woman. “Come with me.”

 

Suspiciously, Kate followed her closely, just about managing to keep her hands to herself and resisting the urge to grasp the tails of the brunette’s lab coat. “What is it?”

 

“All will be revealed.”

 

As they turned down a dimly lit corridor, which Kate knew for a fact was only used for storing broken and defunct pieces of UNIT equipment before it was properly and safely disposed of, Osgood turned and shot her a mischievous smirk. Instantly the blonde realised what was going through her girlfriend’s mind and she chuckled, reaching out and catching Osgood's hand in hers.

 

“You are terrible, Petronella Osgood.”

 

“One of us has to be.” The brunette shrugged, turning and tugging the older woman towards her by the waist. Pulling Kate flush against her, she pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. “Em’s coming home tonight so I won't get you to myself for ages.”

 

“You’re flattering us, Os. We’ll be lucky if Em’s at home at all.”

 

The brunette snorted, tightening her arms around her girlfriend. “Yeah, right. She’s only here for a week and she’ll want to spend as much time with you as possible. She’ll only make plans to go out if Daniel decides he wants to see her.”

 

Pulling a face at the mention of her ex-husband, Kate shook her head. “It’s not just me she wants to spend time with. She loves you just as much as me. Maybe even more!”

 

“Impossible.” Osgood laughed, leaning forward to kiss the pouting blonde softly.

 

With an appreciative hum, Kate leant into the kiss, wrapping one hand firmly around the scientist’s waist and feeling blindly for the door handle behind them with the other. She laughed against Osgood’s lips at her squeak of surprise as the door gave way, before slowly backing them into the darkened room beyond. Kicking the door closed behind her, Kate continued her thorough exploration of the younger woman’s mouth, turning them round so the she could press her up against the now closed door. It was her turn to gasp as Osgood’s cold hands slid under the hem of her shirt and moved slowly up her back.

 

“Ahem…” There was an uncomfortable cough from behind them and the couple sprang apart instantly, pawing at their ruffled appearances in the vain hope of seeming as though nothing had been happening. “Sorry to intrude, but I was wondering whether I could have a word.”

 

“Doctor!” Osgood was the first to react, taking in the slightly wild hair and impressive eyebrows of the man standing in front of them. “What are you…?”

 

“I got a little… misdirected… by the TARDIS. We ran into an asteroid shower near the vent of Mo’ush and it seems to have knocked her tracking out a bit. I was actually heading for Torchwood Three…”

 

Kate stiffened, almost imperceptibly, and sniffed. “What’s the problem? I’m sure we can be of just as much help as Torchwood.”

 

“I don’t doubt it.” The Doctor agreed, clearly not noticing the defensive tone lacing her words. “Can I access your database files?”

 

“That’s classified information, I’m afraid, Doctor.” The blonde replied, shaking her head and keeping her cards close to her chest. The Doctor had the relevant clearance level, but she wanted to find out what was going on before she let him anywhere near their vaults of information. “Maybe if you gave us some idea of what you’re looking for–”

 

“Bit of bother over in the Boeshane Peninsular with a couple of Upansidi bandits.” He replied, tinkering with the broken down particle accelerator in the corner of the storeroom. “Just wanted to see if there’s any information on them or, more generally, their race lying around. Not had much contact with the Upansidis before now.”

 

“What do these Upansidis look like?” Osgood asked, instantly fascinated. “I’ve read most of the alien files, maybe I’ll remember something.”

 

“They look rather like you lot, really. Humanoid, incredibly pale complexions, very big eyes… like that cartoon deer.”

 

“Bambi?”

 

“Yes, him.” The Doctor nodded vehemently. “They use a caste system based on colours.” Seeing the interest on the younger woman’s face, he grinned. “Each caste is assigned a different colour and, not only are they required to dress in these colours, but they also streak their hair. It’s an interesting concept, albeit not an entirely unique one.”

 

“Well, I’m sure I’ve ever read anything about a society like that.” Kate said bluntly, motioning towards the door. “Shall we?”

 

Osgood listened with rapt attention to the Doctor’s rambling chatter about his latest adventure or, as Kate was more inclined to view it, latest disaster. Pulling out her phone, the UNIT boss tapped in the number of her personal assistant, guessing that dealing with the Time Lord’s current situation would take up most, if not all, of her day. Hastily requesting that the young man rescheduled her meetings with the Defence Secretary and the representative of NATO that had flown over to discuss policy with her, Kate almost missed her assistant’s words before she hung up.

 

“Who’s in my office?”

 

“Your daughter… Emily?”

 

“Of course she is…” Kate sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Trust Emily to turn up, unannounced, at the exact same time as the Doctor. “Tell her I’m busy in meetings all day, but I’ll see her tonight… well yes, I know I told you to cancel them, but… No! Tell Emily to go home… I know she’s difficult; she _is_ my daughter. Just… do it!”

 

“Problem?” Osgood asked, sidling up beside the blonde and touching her lightly on the arm.

 

“Em’s turned up wanting to see me.”

 

“She’s what? I thought she was still in Manchester?” The brunette frowned. “Why? What’s she done?”

 

“I have no idea.” Kate sighed. “But if she’s turned up here rather than waiting ‘til we get home, it can’t be good.”

 

“What can’t be good?” The Doctor chipped in, looking between them with interest. “Who’s ‘ _she_ ’?”

 

“No one.” The blonde replied quickly. “Doctor, Osgood will take you up to the data vault and supervise your research while I go and deal with this little… problem.”

 

Exchanging a determined nod with her girlfriend, Kate turned on her heels and strode away in the direction of her office. She waved a hand at her apologetic assistant as he tried to explain how hard he’d tried to get rid of her daughter, pushing through the door and closing it with a firm click behind her.

 

“Emily, what are you–? What on earth have you done to your hair?”

 

“Do you like it?” The younger Stewart grinned, reaching up a hand to run through her considerably shorter, bluer hair. From where it had fallen half-way down her back the last time her mother had seen her and been its natural dark brown, it was now bouncing off her shoulders and tinged with a bright, electric blue. “I thought it was time for a change.”

 

“And a drastic one at that.” Kate replied, arching an eyebrow. “Your father is going to–”

 

“Hate it, I know!” Emily grinned. “But I’m not here about the hair. I need your help. I’ve sort of, accidentally–”

 

“Are you OK?” Instantly her mother suspected the worst, surging forward and visually assessing the young woman for injury. “Was it something illegal? How much rank am I going to have to pull to sort this out?”

 

“It’s nothing _major_ …”

 

“How many times have I heard that before?”

 

“No, really. It’s not illegal… I just might have…”

 

“Emily Fiona Stewart will you please just split it out before–”

 

“MylecturercameontomesoIpunchedhimintheface.” She blurted out in one breath.

 

Kate stared at her for a moment. “Is that all?”

 

“They’re threatening to kick me off my course.” Emily told her with a wince. “I swear I did nothing to encourage him, Mum.”

 

“If course you didn't, darling.” Her mother nodded in agreement. “If you’d said ‘ _she_ ’ I might have questioned that fact, but I know you well enough to believe that there is no way in hell you’d have led a man on.”

 

“Can you talk to them?” Emily asked, chewing her lip. “I mean… I know I only applied in the first place because Manchester seemed like a great place to go, but I’m actually enjoying the course and I just… I don’t want to fail. I don’t want to…”

 

Kate looked at her carefully, seeing the look in her eyes. With a deep sigh, she gathered her daughter in her arms and held her tightly. “You could never let me down, sweetheart. Whatever you do – or don’t do – I will always be incredibly proud of you. So will Osgood. We love you and we always will.”

 

“Dad–”

 

“Oh, screw your father!” Kate exclaimed. “Who cares what he thinks?”

 

Emily was just about to respond when the door flew open and the Doctor appeared with a flustered Osgood just behind him. He stared wide-eyed between the two women, still embracing each other, pointing urgently between them.

 

“Ahhh! Ahhhhh!” His agitation rose as they simply stared at him. “Kate Stewart… hugging a Upansidian… blue hair…”

 

“Oi, Braveheart, leave it out!” Emily snapped, rolling her eyes. “My mum can comment on the hair, you can’t.”

 

“Calm down, Doctor.” Kate ordered, loosening her grip on the girl beside her, but not letting go completely. "Emily is not an Upansidian; she’s my daughter.”

 

“Blue hair!”

 

“Yes… something we need to talk about later.” She said, shooting her a look and receiving another eye-roll in return. “But I can assure you that Emily is completely human… problems and all.”

 

“Wait… Doctor?” Emily pulled herself out of her mother’s arms and stepped forward, her head tilted to one side as she examined the man in front of her. “I thought you’d be younger… Emily Stewart, nice to meet you.”

 

He blinked, before shaking the hand that was held out in his direction. “Yes… you’re definitely a Stewart, aren’t you?”

 

“I am indeed.” She grinned. “So… what brings you here? Something exciting?”

 

“No.” Kate shook her head vehemently, grasping the younger woman by the shoulders and pulling her back to her side. “No, no. Absolutely not.”

 

“The Doctor’s found out what he needs to know.” Osgood announced, stepping in as she realised what was happening. “He’s ready to go. Just saying goodbye, weren’t you, Doctor?”

 

He blinked at her, frowning lightly, then widened his eyes again and nodded. “Oh, yes. Yes. Bye, Kate Stewart.” He pumped her hand up and down enthusiastically. “Osgood… stay brilliant. Emily Stewart… I have a feeling I’ll see you around.”

 

“No, no, you won’t, Doctor.” Kate assured him seriously. As though sensing her daughter making the ‘call me’ signal next to her, the blonde swatted at her without moving her gaze from the Time Lord. “You really won’t.”


	13. Well, Aren't You a Dark Horse?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I am totally in love with Berena (Bernie and Serena, Holby City) at the moment and being in hospital with a severe kidney infection catapulted this idea into my mind. I know that it wouldn't work for various reasons (Holby being set in Bristol and Kate not actually being a trauma surgeon, for example), but what can you do when an idea hits?! 
> 
> The pain of never wanting Berena to end, but wanting way more Kate Stewart in your life is a tricky one! I just have a lot of feelings, OK?
> 
> Also, thank you to everyone who's reading/reviewing/etc. It means a lot :)
> 
> x

 

"Os?" Emily frowned when there was no response from her stepmother. "OS! D'you want a cuppa?"

When there was still no answer, the brunette set the mugs she had retrieved from the cupboard on the kitchen counter and decided to go in search of the older woman. Seeing no sign of her in the living room, she headed up the stairs and poked her head around the bedroom Osgood shared with her mother.

"Shit!" Surging forward, Emily dropped to her knees beside the bed and reached out to Osgood who was doubled over, her face contorted with pain as she clutched her stomach. "Os? Osgood? What's wrong?"

"I… I don't know… It hurts so much!"

"Where? What hurts? Should I call someone?"

"I… I don't… Owww!"

Seeing the tears in Osgood's eyes, Emily made up her mind and grabbed for the handset sitting on the bedside cabinet closest to her. Dialling the number for the emergency services, she reeled off the postcode and relayed what was happening to the woman on the other end of the line. There was a tense pause as the woman checked how long it would take for an ambulance to reach them, before Emily hastily thanked her and hung up.

"Come on, Os… let's get you downstairs, alright? Careful… that's it…"

"Kate…"

Emily nodded quickly. "I'll phone her as soon as you're sorted, alright? I promise. Let's get you to hospital first."

Managing to get Osgood down the stairs, wincing and biting her lip as the older woman clutched desperately at her arm and cried out with the pain, Emily set her down gently on the sofa. She paced anxiously around the living room, not knowing what to do for the best, peering through the window at vaguely regular intervals as she waited for the ambulance to appear.

Finally after what seemed like hours, during which time Osgood had been sick three times, there was a bang on the door and Emily rushed to open it. Two paramedics entered the house and went straight to Osgood, assessing her quickly and taking her pulse and blood pressure, before one disappeared to get a wheelchair from the ambulance.

"Call Kate…" Osgood requested again as they loaded her into the back of the vehicle and Emily climbed in behind her.

Nodding, she hit her mother's number in her speed dial, watching as the paramedic located a vein in Osgood's arm and skilfully inserted a cannula. He quickly attached a tube and hooked a bag onto the handle in the ceiling above the woman, checking it was running through properly.

"Just some anti-sickness medication and a saline drip to keep her fluids up." The man assured them, noticing Emily looking at the bag warily as she held Osgood's hand tightly. "I'm Iain, by the way."

"Emily…" She nodded at him distractedly before glancing back at her stepmother; deeply concerned at the way her face was contorting in agony. A click in her ear told her that her call had been answered. "Mum?"

"What's the matter, Emily? I'm about to head into a consultation with a new supplier of–"

"It's Osgood." The brunette cut across her bluntly. "She's been throwing up and she's got stomach pains… like really bad… we're in an ambulance."

"What?" Kate gasped audibly, her sudden panic evident in her tone. "Where are they taking her?"

"Umm…" Turning to the paramedic, Emily shot him a wide-eyed look. "Where are we going? Which hospital?"

"Holby General." He replied; distracted by the temperature reading he had just taken from his patient.

"We're going to Holby General." The young woman relayed to her mother. When there was a long pause in response, she frowned. "Mum?"

"Yes… right." Kate took an audible breath. "I'll meet you there."

Ending the call, Emily pushed her mobile back into her pocket and held Osgood's hand with both of her own. The older woman was lying back on the stretcher with her eyes clamped shut and a pained expression on her face. Chewing her lip distractedly, Emily tried to calm herself down, knowing that panicking wouldn't help anything.

"What's wrong with her?" She asked after a couple of moments.

The paramedic glanced up from the paperwork on his lap. "I wouldn't like to say, but it could be either the appendix or kidneys. Could be as simple as a UTI, though. As soon as the docs get a look at her I'm sure they'll be able to tell you more." As Emily simply nodded, he smiled. "I need a few details."

"Of course…" She forced a smile and squeezed her stepmother's hand. "Os?"

"Mmm?"

"Full name and date of birth?" The paramedic asked, glancing towards his patient.

"Petronella Ruth Osgood. 26th November 1978."

"Address?"

"16, Cranley Gardens, Kensington…"

"Next of kin?"

"Kate… Kate Stewart… my partner." Osgood gasped out, clenching her fist.

"Can you not give her something else?" Emily demanded, hating seeing the older brunette in so much pain.

"I'm afraid not." The paramedic apologised.

He ran through the rest of his questions as quickly as he could, checking her vital statistics once more before the ambulance drew to a halt outside the hospital and the two paramedics helped Osgood into a wheelchair. Thrusting the IV bag into Emily's hands and instructing her to hold it up, they made their way quickly into the Emergency Department, going to the desk to book the woman in.

"A porter will be here now to take Osgood straight up to AAU." Iain told them gently. "They're dealing with a major incident down here, so it'll be a bit quieter upstairs. They also want to rule out the necessity for an appendectomy."

"Right… Thanks…"

Typing a quick text to let her mother know where they were going, Emily followed the porter as he pushed Osgood through the winding corridors and into a lift. The young woman dutifully held the IV bag above her stepmother's head.

A smiling man with a Scottish accent, who introduced himself as Doctor Di Lucca, greeted them just inside the ward, before they were taken to a free bay and Osgood was helped out of the wheelchair and into the bed. Unable to stop herself, Emily paced the floor and bombarded the doctor with questions as he carried out assessments on his patient's condition. She visibly flinched as Osgood cried out when he pressed down on the tender area on the lower left side of her abdomen, jerking forward to grab the older woman's hand.

"What's wrong with her?" Seeing him reluctant to tell her anything, Emily frowned lightly. "She's my stepmother. Please… what's wrong with her?"

"I want to carry out a few more tests before I can be certain." He told her carefully. "Usual bloods and urines, please, Lou." He requested of the nurse beside him. "I also want to check blood sugar levels. Oh, and book Ms Osgood in for an ultrasound and an abdominal x-ray."

Emily was about to demand more information, when the ward doors were flung open and familiar footsteps strode towards them. The young woman's heart leapt at the sight of her mother crossing the ward, relief flooding through her, despite the panicked expression on Kate's face.

Before she could say anything, though, the man beside her exclaimed, "Bernie?"

"Raf…"

"Bernie?"

"Serena!"

"What?" Emily frowned, looking around at the varying degrees of confusion on the faces around her.

Another woman had joined them, about Kate's age and height with short dark hair and expressive eyes. She was staring at the blonde as though she had seen a ghost, while Dr Di Lucca was staring between them in something akin to shock.

For a couple of moments, no one said anything. Then Osgood let out a plaintive whimper and Kate was immediately at her side, clutching her hand and brushing the hair tenderly from her face. Emily glanced at the woman who was still watching them, curious about the sadness that seemed to have crept into her eyes.

"Os? I'm here, sweetheart. It's going to be alright." Kate murmured, brushing her lips against her girlfriend's forehead. "What's wrong with her?"

Hesitating for a moment, Dr Di Lucca stepped forward and handed over Osgood's file. Kate glanced through it for a moment, before nodding and handing it back.

"Infection?"

"Most likely." He agreed. "But I also want to do a couple of scans to rule out a ruptured cyst or inflamed bowel. I'm worried about the vomiting."

"What about an abdominal CT?" Kate suggested.

"We'll see what shows up in the x-ray and ultrasound first."

"OK… thanks, Raf."

While she turned back to look at her girlfriend, perching herself on the edge of the bed and squeezing Osgood's hands, the doctor frowned lightly. Emily was torn between asking what was going on and focusing on her stepmother's condition. After a moment the decision was made for her when Dr Di Lucca turned and walked away.

Sensing that her daughter was about to ask a question, Kate shook her head. "Not now, Em."

"But what's–?"

"Later."

* * *

Neither Kate nor Emily left Osgood's bedside all day. Even when she was taken off the ward for her scans they stayed. Kate took those opportunities to check her phone and make some calls, while Emily browsed Facebook and stared at the dark-haired consultant who kept shooting surreptitious glances towards them when she thought she wasn't being observed.

"Right… you've gotta tell me what the deal is here." Emily demanded finally. "There's very obviously something going on and I want to know what."

"It's not important." Kate told her dismissively. "I… I was on an op here for a while a couple of years ago. We had reason to believe that there was something of interest to us occurring here. I put my medical training to use and took up a consultant surgeon's position here for a while."

Her daughter frowned. "You're not a consultant surgeon, though?"

"Actually, I am. Technically, anyway."

Emily arched an eyebrow in complete disbelief. "What?"

"Mmm… did my initial training before I had you and then after you were born I did my surgical specialism. You were only seven when I joined UNIT and I didn't really need to use any of my training then. I had other duties."

"Well bloody hell…" Her daughter shook her head; taken aback by the nonchalant tone Kate had delivered the information in, as though it was nothing more important than a shopping list. "I knew you were a dark horse, but this is something else."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Oh don't be ridiculous. You don't know every single thing about me."

"Apparently not!"

Shooting her a sideways glance, Kate placed her mobile on the blanket beside her and turned to face her daughter. "Hey? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Emily shrugged, picking at her nails. "I'm worried about Os."

"I saw the x-ray and her bloods and urine results. It's a kidney infection that can be easily and quickly cured with antibiotics. This ultrasound is just to make sure there's nothing we missed." The blonde assured her gently, reaching out and cupping her daughter's cheek. "Os is going to be absolutely fine, I promise you."

"Yeah?"

Kate paused for a moment, biting her lip and searching the dark eyes staring back at her. It didn't take a genius to realise that Emily wasn't simply upset about her stepmother's illness and Kate, who knew her daughter better than the young woman knew herself, spotted that as soon as their eyes met.

"Sweetheart… just because you didn't know about my medical training doesn't mean you know me any less than you thought you did." She said slowly. "You might not know my entire CV, but you know the important things like that I own every single Carry On film, even the truly  _terrible_  Carry on Columbus, or that I laugh uncontrollably when you tickle my ribs or that I am deathly afraid of cobwebs touching my face. You and Gordy and Osgood… you're my whole universe and we both know just how big that really is."

"It was just a shock, that's all…" Emily admitted, scooting closer and nestling into her mother's side. Kate smiled, memories of her daughter's childhood flooding through her. Closing her eyes, she pressed a kiss to the mop of dark hair. "You're just even more amazing than I knew and I… I got kicked off my uni course for decking a lecturer."

Kate snorted with amusement. "He deserved it. I'd have decked him myself if I'd ended up going to that meeting."

Emily giggled and turned to press her face into the blonde's neck. "I wish you'd been able to make it. I'd have loved to have seen that."

"So would I."

Looking up, the younger woman noticed the brunette consultant watching them again. "What's the deal with pixie cut?"

"Hmm? Oh… Serena… we were… friends."

"Yeah? Gal pals?" Emily asked with a wink. Then her smirk broadened and her eyes twinkled as she realised the truth. "Harold, they're lesbians."

"You spend far too much time on the internet." Her mother groused, a pink tinge colouring her cheeks.

"And there was me thinking that Osgood was your first delicious journey into the Sapphic World."

Kate looked at her in disbelief. "There really is something wrong with you." When Emily just shrugged and grinned, she sighed. "No… Serena and I… we were sort of on the verge of getting together for a while and then I… the mission ended and I just…"

"Vanished?"

"Something like that. Said I was being seconded to the Ukraine and just... never came back."

"Wow." Emily shook her head. "Never pictured you as the fuck and run type."

"Emily!" Kate looked scandalised at her accusation. "It wasn't like that. We never actually… I just…"

"When was this?"

"It was a while ago… just after the divorce came through…"

"Rebound?"

Kate shook her head vehemently. "No… I… I loved her… really, I did."

"So why didn't you stay?" Emily asked, genuinely curious about the reason.

"It just… it wouldn't have worked. It wouldn't have been fair to Serena and I couldn't do that to her. I should have explained, I know that, but I couldn't bear to see her face. I was a coward."

"That's one thing you're definitely not, Kate Stewart." A slightly pained voice made them turn, both smiling widely and standing up as they saw Osgood being wheeled towards them by a porter. "So that's  _the_  Serena, then?"

"You knew?" Emily asked, her eyebrows shooting up.

"Of course I knew. Ever wondered why she doesn't drink Shiraz anymore?" Osgood replied, manoeuvring herself onto the bed. She took Kate's hand in hers, entwining their fingers and smiling at the older woman. "We don't have any secrets."

"None…" The blonde agreed, pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

"You should go and talk to her, though, love. She clearly needs to say something and I think you at least owe her that."

Taking a breath, Kate nodded and pressed a quick kiss to Osgood's cheek, before walking quickly towards the desk where Serena was pretending not to be watching them. Osgood and Emily watched for a moment, before the two women headed into a side room and the door closed behind them.

"You reckon Serena's still single?" Emily mused absent-mindedly, chewing her lip as her eyes remained fixed on the blinds of the office that held her mother and the surgeon. "She's incredibly fit… and considering her and mum never actually…"

Osgood shook her head in disbelief and looked at the young woman fondly. "You really do concern me sometimes."


	14. The Leopard Changes its Spots?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ForeverMBond on fanfiction.net commented, ‘This is great! Have you considered extending it to another chapter? A strange mix to wrap your head around combining worlds but I dig it’ on the last chapter, featuring Serena and the Holby crew.
> 
> Honestly, I hadn’t thought about it, but then I did think about it! Somehow it’s kinda turned into a three-shot… I genuinely don’t know what happened here.
> 
> x

 

It turned out that Osgood had been ignoring the symptoms of her kidney infection for several days and the medical staff at Holby General had only just managed to catch it as Sepsis was beginning to set in. They immediately started her on IV antibiotics and paracetamol to bring down her temperature, but she had to stay on AAU for a week or so.

 

Each day Kate turned up at three o’clock on the dot for visiting, left at four and then returned between half past five and seven. It became a routine that they fell into easily. Osgood watched the door religiously from about quarter to three, although she knew that her girlfriend wouldn’t be allowed onto the ward until three. They spent the first hour or so catching up on Osgood’s medical condition and Kate would avoid talking about work.

 

At four, afternoon visiting ended and the blonde would head down to the coffee shop, set up her laptop and do whatever work she could, before heading back up to AAU for evening visiting. The conversation then would be dedicated to talking about Gordy and Emily and whatever predicament Emily had managed to get herself into that day. About twenty minutes before she left, Kate would give in to Osgood’s many questions about what had been happening at the Tower and give her a brief breakdown of any new developments.

 

Emily also visited every day, but either in the afternoon or the evening. She announced, feeling incredibly charitable as she did so, that she wouldn’t go to every visiting so that Kate and Osgood could have some time alone. Her mother had rolled her eyes and sarcastically thanked her for her generosity. Gordy also visited when he could, which turned out to be more than the two women usually saw him in a week.

 

“How’s Gemma?” Osgood asked Emily, five days after she’d been admitted to the hospital.

 

Her stepdaughter frowned in confusion, glancing up from the hand of cards she was clutching. “Who?”

 

“The girl you’re seeing?” When Emily still looked blank, the older woman sighed. “Blonde, pretty, works in HSBC?”

 

“No,” Kate looked up from the newspaper spread over her lap, “that’s Poppy.”

 

Osgood frowned. “Is it? I thought Poppy was the nurse?”

 

“Olivia.” Her girlfriend informed her. “Gemma’s the fashion student.”

 

“Ohhh…. _that_ Gemma.”

 

“How many Gemmas do you know?” Her brother asked, peering at her over the top of his own cards. “And how many girls are you seeing at the moment, for that matter?”

 

“Don’t!” Kate shook her head at him. “Don’t make me listen to it. I have no interest in finding out the answer to that question. I’ve tried to instil the value of relationships in your sister, but she isn’t the slightest bit interested. She could be seeing upwards of ten different women at a time for all I know!”

 

“None.” Emily informed them casually, ignoring her mother’s dramatic speech and placing several cards down on the blanket between herself and Osgood. “I’m not seeing anyone.”

 

All three members of her family gaped. “What?”

 

“It’s true. I’m not seeing anyone.”

 

“Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?” Kate asked, a smirk twisting her lips.

 

“Oh, I’m still here… I’m just playing the long game. I have my sights on someone and I have a plan.”

 

Gordy frowned. “That is a truly terrifying notion.”

 

“What kind of plan?” Osgood asked, clearly dreading the myriad of possibilities that had occurred to her.

 

“I’m not saying… You’ll just have to wait and see.”

 

Conversation turned round to Gordon and his girlfriend and the unexpected news that they were thinking about moving in with each other. Kate was a little thrown by the news and especially by the blasé attitude her son evidently had towards the massive commitment he was making. She had only met his girlfriend a handful of times and informed Gordon very firmly that she wanted him and Lorna to come to dinner as soon as Osgood was home and well enough for guests.

 

Emily, who had been slightly distracted for several minutes, stood suddenly and shot her family a fleeting grin. “I need a wee… I’ll be back in a minute.”

 

“What do you think she’s up to?” Kate asked, narrowing her eyes as her daughter walked away from them, disappearing out of sight.

 

“She said she needed the toilet?”

 

“Gordy… what your sister says and what your sister does are not always connected.” She pointed out, rolling her eyes at her son.

 

“Maybe she spotted a pretty nurse on the way in?”

 

“Did you not hear the part about her having her eye on someone and a plan?” Osgood asked, wrinkling her nose slightly as she reminded the young man of his sister’s words. “As Gordy said before, it’s a terrifying notion. I mean… what could Emily be plotting?”

 

“I don't think she’s ever made a plan before in her life.” Kate mused.

 

Gordon looked around, as though the answer to his question would be written on the walls of the ward. “Who do you think it is? Do you think we know them?”

 

“I don’t think we’ll ever know that, unless Emily wants us to.” Kate sighed. "Maybe the leopard really can change its spots..."

 

* * *

 

“So… Ms Campbell… I hear you have the goss on my mother?” Emily asked, leaning casually against the doorframe and looking towards the desk behind which Serena was flicking through an open file.

 

She jumped and looked up quickly, her eyes slightly narrowed with confusion. When she realised who had addressed her, she arched an eyebrow. “Really? And what makes you think that?”

 

“She told me.”

 

“She told me about you, too.” Serena informed the younger woman with a knowing smirk. “Or do I mean warned?”

 

“Warned, probably.” Emily agreed with a shrug. “That would be a sensible assumption, anyway.”

 

“Yes… ‘obstinate’ and ‘tenacious’ are the words Ber– Kate used to describe you, I believe.”

 

“Sounds about right. Dad says it’s because of my lack of a female role model in my early years, which is complete bullshit.” Emily said with a shrug. Then she smirked. “I just know what I want and I like having fun.”

 

The surgeon looked at her carefully, taking in the expression on the face opposite her. She started a little as she realised she was staring at the twenty-year-old and looked down at the file once more, distracting herself from the loaded gaze that was being directed at her.

 

After a couple of minutes, when it was evident that Emily was still watching her, she gave a small huff of indignation and folded her arms, leaning back in her chair. “What?”

 

“Just thinking…”

 

“About what?” Serena asked, curious in spite of herself.

 

Emily winked before pushing off the doorframe and walking backwards in the direction of Osgood’s bay, not breaking eye contact. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

 

* * *

 

Kate was just thinking about suggesting that her children said goodbye to Osgood and left so that they wouldn’t miss their bus, when footsteps came towards them and stopped. The little family unit glanced up as one, seeing Serena hesitating at the foot of Osgood’s bed with a file in her hands.

 

“Serena,” the blonde smiled warmly, “everything OK?”

 

“Brilliant.” The surgeon informed her with a wry smile and a nod. “We have your latest test results back, Osgood. I’m pleased to say that there’s no further sign of the infection. I’d like to keep you here until tomorrow morning under observation, but I’m fairly confident that you’ll be able to go home then.”

 

“Really?” Osgood beamed. “Excellent! I’m dying to get back to work.”

 

Kate laughed. “No chance. You’re having at least a week off to get better properly.”

 

“I’m afraid she’s right.” Serena agreed, hugging the file to her chest, almost like a shield. “You need to take some time to recover. This was a nasty infection.”

 

“But I feel–”

 

“Do as you’re told, Os.” Emily ordered sternly, smirking at her stepmother’s eye roll in response. “Ms Campbell knows what she’s talking about, even if Mum doesn't.”

 

“Oi!” Kate swatted at her lightly. “But she’s right; Serena does know what she’s talking about. She’s the best.”

 

Serena looked a little embarrassed. “Oh, well, I’m not sure–”

 

“Meekness has never suited you, Rena.” The blonde teased. “You know you’re fantastic.”

 

“Ay up!” Emily winked suggestively as Gordon choked on the mouthful of water he had taken just before his mother spoke.

 

“Emily!” Kate exclaimed, seeing both Osgood and Serena blush furiously at the implication. “Enough!”

 

“What?” Her daughter shrugged innocently. “I just meant it was praise indeed to be called fantastic by you.”

 

Apparently her explanation was good enough for the two women who had been embarrassed by her words, but not enough to stop Kate being irritated with her. Apologising quickly, the blonde asked Serena if she could borrow her office for a moment, before she grasped her daughter by the arm and dragged her across the ward. Shutting them inside the side room, she wheeled round and fixed Emily with an infuriated glare.

 

“What were you trying to achieve?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“What were you trying to achieve by embarrassing everyone just then?”

 

“I wasn’t–”

 

Kate frowned, folding her arms. “I’m disappointed in you, Emily. I would never have expected you to make fun of Serena like that. I know you love Osgood, but making Serena feel–”

 

“Woah!” The brunette held up her hands. “I wasn’t making fun of Serena!”

 

“What Serena and I had, years ago, is in the past. I love Osgood and seeing an old flame isn’t going to change that. We’ve talked about what happened between us – I’ve apologised for running away without talking to her – and we’ve put it all behind us. It turns out she and Osgood are getting on like a house on fire. Besides, Serena was straight before I met her and she’s probably still straight now.”

 

“Mum… I know all that. I didn’t mean… it was a joke.” Emily told her quickly. “I didn’t mean to make Serena, or you, think I was taking the piss. I know you and Os are completely solid. I like Serena…”

 

“You… what?” She paused, unsure what her daughter was getting at. When the younger woman simply shrugged and looked at her hands, Kate shook her head. “No. No! Absolutely not!”

 

“What?”

 

“You and Serena? No!”

 

“Why not?” Emily demanded, indignantly. “You said you never slept with her – hell, you only kissed her twice – so it’s not weird! The age difference doesn’t matter to me, so why should it matter to you?”

 

“That’s not the point! I don't… you can’t… I know what you’re like!” Kate blurted out. “You can’t do that to Serena! She’s…”

 

“Too good for me?”

 

Kate’s face fell. “That’s not what I–”

 

“I get it; she meant a lot to you. A long time ago.” She shrugged. “But that was in the past and you’ve got Osgood, now.”

 

“Emily…” The blonde stepped forward, reaching out to her daughter and grasping her chin gently, preventing the girl from looking away. “I love you, you know I do, but I know what you’re like. You’ll flirt and charm Serena into bed and then you’ll get bored. She deserves better than that.”

 

“Who says that’s what’ll happen?” Emily demanded defensively.

 

“Your track record.”

 

“I’m not seeing anyone else, remember. I want to try this… dating thing…”

 

Kate shook her head in complete bewilderment. “Why now? Why Serena?”

 

Emily paused. “I don’t know. It just… feels like… feels like the right thing.”

 

Kate sighed deeply and ran her hands through her hair several times. She didn’t speak for a couple of minutes, simply thinking about the situation and watching her daughter carefully. Emily was looking out of the office, through the horizontal blinds with a small smile on her face. Kate followed the line of her vision and saw that she was watching Serena talking to Osgood, laughing at something the younger woman had said.

 

“Em…”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Don’t hurt her.”


	15. Something Has Changed

“We’re going to get a coffee from the shop.” Kate told her daughter, leaning on the handles of the wheelchair that Osgood was sitting in, looking severely irritated at the fact she still wasn’t allowed to walk. “D’you want to come?”

 

“No… I’ll stay here.”

 

“Be good.” The blonde instructed her, looking meaningfully towards the woman who was sitting at the computer in her office, tapping at the keyboard with a frown firmly etched on her features.

 

Emily nodded and smiled weakly at the two women, before turning her gaze towards Serena once more. She watched as the consultant scowled and huffed irritably, jabbing the enter key on the keyboard almost viciously. Slowly, Emily crossed the ward towards her. Taking the opportunity, while Serena was firmly occupied, Emily traced her features with her eyes: the curve of her jaw, the exact colour of her eyes and the outline of her lips. Without meaning to, she let out a soft sigh.

 

“What?”

 

“Huh?”

 

Serena chuckled. “The sighing? Boring you, am I?" She inclined her head towards the ward doors. "Perhaps you should try and catch up with your mother and Osgood?”

 

“No!” The younger woman shook her head vehemently. “You’re not boring me… never.”

 

Shooting her a slightly odd look, Serena leant back in the chair, twisting slightly to look at Emily properly. She tilted her head, regarding the other woman curiously, wondering at the expression on her face. “What?”

 

“I love this necklace.” She replied softly, reaching across and gently touching the pendant resting on Serena’s chest with her index finger. “It’s beautiful…”

 

“Thank you.” The older brunette smiled warmly, instinctively bringing up a hand to hold the pendant in question. Her fingers brushed Emily’s which had lingered for longer than was necessary, causing a fierce blush to rise on her cheeks. “It was a present from my daughter.”

 

“She’s got good taste.”

 

“Well… thank you.” Serena smiled. “But she’s taken, I’m afraid.”

 

Emily laughed, her confidence surging up inside her. “Good for her. But what about you?”

 

“Me?” She shook her head. “Oh… between this place and Jason, I barely have time to sleep, let alone anything else!”

 

“That’s a shame, you should really do something about that. I mean, a woman as gorgeous as you… it’s a complete waste.” She smirked, shifting slightly on the desk so that her thigh was pressing against Serena’s arm where it lay on the surface. “You should let me buy you a drink. Shiraz is your favourite, right?”

 

“Oh, that’s sweet of you, but you don’t have to do that.”

 

“I know I don’t _have_ to. But I _want_ to.”

 

Serena patted her knee and smiled. “You’re lovely.”

 

Emily blushed, ducking her head so that a couple of her curls fell across her face. “Nah, not really.”

 

“Of course you are,” Serena argued, her hand still resting on the younger woman’s knee, “why else would you be worried about the social life of an old woman like me?”

 

“You’re _not_ old.”

 

The surgeon snorted. “I’m more than twice your age.”

 

“So? You’re only as old as the woman you feel.” Emily told her with a suggestive wink.

 

Serena laughed, tipping her head back and exposing her neck to the younger woman. Emily bit her lip, barely managing to restrain herself from surging forward and attaching her lips to the expanse of skin that had been revealed to her.

 

“Oh… I met your brother.”

 

“Huh?” Emily started at the abrupt shift in conversation. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “What?”

 

“Gordy. I met him before, years ago, when he was a medical student?”

 

She nodded slowly. “Yeah… dropped out in his fourth year.”

 

“He turned up here one day as part of his course. I don’t think either he _or_ your mother were expecting to see each other. It came as quite a shock to both parties.” Serena smiled weakly.

 

“What happened?” Emily asked, unsure how to feel about this new piece of information. If Gordy had, indeed, seen their mother at the hospital then she was the _only_ one who hadn’t known about this part of her life.

 

“From what I remember it wasn’t the most successful day.” The older woman said with a shrug. “They argued, Bern– Kate… Kate was defensive and I thought it was because her son was on the ward and she didn’t want to appear unprofessional or mix her home and work life. It never occurred to me that Gordy had no idea that she would be here. He just seemed incredibly confused. It sounds horrible, but I’m not surprised he dropped out of medical school. He wasn’t exactly a natural.”

 

“No… he’s much better off where he is.”

 

“What is it he does now?”

 

“Journalist… loves a good story does Gordy.” Emily shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about Gordon.”

 

Serena arched an eyebrow at her. “Oh? And what do you want to talk about?”

 

“You.”

 

The older woman looked taken aback by the bluntness of the response. “Me? Why on earth–?”

 

Emily blinked. “Surely you can tell…”

 

“Emily!”

 

Both women jumped, startled by the interruption and pulled out of the moment that had fallen over them. Emily scowled darkly at her brother, who seemed to be trying to hide a broad grin and looking between the brunettes with something close to amusement.

 

“Mum wanted to know whether you want a coffee?”

 

“Not really.”

 

“I should get on.” Serena announced, standing up and looking anywhere but at the young woman whose eyes she suddenly decided she couldn’t meet. “I’ll be over later to talk to Osgood about being discharged.”

 

As she strode away, Gordon shoved his sister in the shoulder, allowing himself to chuckle. “Looks like you’ve struck out there, sis.”

 

She punched him in the shoulder. “Fuck off, _Gopher_.”

 

“You aren’t even old enough to remember Gordon the Gopher!” He complained, nudging her in the ribs as they waited impatiently for the lift doors to open.

 

“Neither are you.” Emily pointed out. “Doesn’t stop you being an ass.”

 

“What does that–? That literally makes no sense!”

 

“Nor does your face? What are you gonna do about it?”

 

“You’re such a child!” Gordon complained, shoving her out of the lift as they reached the ground floor. “Honestly, it’s no wonder Ms Campbell didn’t seem remotely interested in flirting with you. Why would she be interested in you? You don’t stand a chance!”

 

“Shut up.” Emily muttered, pushing her hands in her pocket and hunching her shoulders.

 

“Awww… not used to this, are you, Ems?” He teased her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. When she tried to shrug him off, he simply held on tighter. “A female able to resist Emily Stewart’s considerable charms? Shocking! What is the world coming to?”

 

“I’ll start worrying when you start doing better with women than me.” She shot back sullenly. “I haven’t actually met Lorna yet, have I?”

 

They reached the table where Kate and Osgood were sitting and both dropped heavily into an empty chair with almost the exact same movement, still bickering. Their mother and stepmother watched exasperatedly as they sniped at each other, only stepping in when Emily attempted to throw a teaspoon at Gordy’s head.

 

“What’s going on?” Kate sighed, deftly catching the spoon before it could leave her daughter’s hand.

 

“She said that she was going to make Lorna–”

 

“He said that Serena wouldn’t–”

 

“Stop!” The blonde held up her hands, frowning at her offspring. Reluctantly they both stopped talking, still glaring at each other, but obeying their mother’s command nevertheless. “You’re both in your twenties, but you’re acting like children!”

 

“But he started–”

 

“It’s not my–”

 

“Stop! That is enough, you two. I mean it!” Kate snapped. “Why must you always make everything about you?” Seeing that Emily was about to argue, she shook her head. “No. Emily, stay away from Gordon’s girlfriend. Don’t even joke about stealing your brother’s girlfriend! Gordon, don’t make fun of Emily’s feelings. There is no reason in the world why she can’t attract anyone she wants. Now stop all this childishness, the pair of you. Honestly! It’s like having toddlers again!”

 

“But he said–”

 

“Emily Stewart, if you say one more word then you can leave this hospital right now.”

 

With a loud, incredibly childish huff, Emily folded her arms and slid down in her seat. Osgood and Kate chatted for a while, managing to draw either Emily or Gordon into conversation, but not both at the same time. Apparently they were still not able to talk to each other without it descending into an argument and neither wanted to push their mother any further.

 

When Gordon got up to answer a phone call, Kate and Osgood rounded on Emily. They watched her suddenly become very interested in the remnants of her latte, as though she knew what was about to be directed at her.

 

“I take it Serena wasn’t particularly receptive to your interest in her?”

 

“I don't think she realised I _am_ interested in her.”

 

“I’ve seen you flirt.” Osgood pointed out. “Talk about using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.”

 

“I asked her out, but I don’t think she understood that I was asking her out.” Emily shook her head. “I don’t get it.”

 

Kate chuckled. “Oh, my darling. This is a whole new situation for you, isn’t it?”

 

“That’s what Gordy said.” Her daughter muttered.

 

“Has this never happened to you before now?” Osgood asked in astonishment.

 

“Not really… I mean, there have been girls who weren’t interested, but it never bothered me before.” She exhaled deeply. “He was right… it’s pointless. Serena’s never going to look at me twice…”

 

Kate scrutinised her carefully as she put her head on her arms on the table. Glancing sideways she met Osgood’s eyes, seeing the concern and sympathy that her girlfriend was regarding the younger brunette with. Clearly Osgood shared her view that her daughter’s crush on Serena was a pointless exercise that would lead nowhere.

 

“Sweetheart… maybe you should…”

 

Emily made a muffled sound and flinched away from the hand her mother hand placed gently on her bowed head. Kate furrowed her eyebrows, looking towards Osgood for a clue as to what to do.

 

“Em, could you pop down to the shop and get me another soduku book? I’ve finished the one your mum got me the other day.”

 

With a deep sigh the young woman stood up and headed slowly towards the hospital shop with her hands pushed firmly into her pockets. Kate and Osgood watched her go, neither really sure what to do for the best.

 

“I have never seen Emily like this before.” Kate admitted, shaking her head. “I was honestly starting to think she wasn’t capable of having a ‘normal’ relationship. I was worried there was something…”

 

Osgood looked at her seriously. “Kate.”

 

“No, I just meant… she never seemed to feel anything for any of the girls she was seeing. She flitted in and out of their lives without a second thought. I’ve seen Emily physically hide in a cupboard from a girl she decided was getting too attached.”

 

“Seriously? A cupboard?”

 

“Yeah… you know the one where we keep the scarves and things in the hallway?”

 

“That’s tiny!”

 

“Yeah… she was that determined not to be spotted.” Kate sighed. “But now she’s… moping. Clearly nothing has happened with Serena and yet Emily is definitely moping! She’s never moped over anyone in her entire life.” The blonde blinked several times, her mouth dropping open as a realisation washed over her. “My daughter actually has feelings for Serena; proper, deep, grown-up feelings.”

 

“What?”

 

Kate and Osgood both froze at the single word from behind them. They both recognised the voice and knew exactly what they had done. Incredibly slowly they turned, smiling weakly as they met the astonished eyes of Serena Campbell.

 

“Surprise?” Kate attempted weakly.

 

“Emily… what?”

 

“Oh gosh…” Osgood looked like she’d rather be absolutely anywhere else in the world at that moment. “Serena… you weren’t meant to hear…”

 

“Were you… were you being serious? Emily… I thought I was imagining… why would she…?”

 

Kate smiled, chuckling softly. “As I told you before; my daughter is a law unto herself. She knows what she wants and I have never stood in her way before and I’m not about to start now.”

 

“But she…”

 

“I’ve never seen her like this before Serena.” The blonde continued, still smiling at the other woman. “It seems you might be the one to finally tame my wild girl. She’s a bit of a heartbreaker… love ‘em and leave ‘em type.”

 

“You’re speaking like she’s beyond help. Like there’s something wrong with her.”

 

“No.” Kate shook her head vehemently. “I want her to be happy. She’s not happy now but I think…”

 

“Me?”

 

“You’re what she wants.”

 

Serena sat heavily at the chair that had only recently been vacated by the young woman they were all talking about. She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, raising her hand as though she were about to start talking, before shaking her head and leaning back in her seat.

 

“Do you not…” Osgood cleared her throat. She was more than a little uncomfortable having this conversation about the girl she’d come to love as her own daughter. “She’s beautiful, funny, clever, kind… could you not at least…”

 

“I can’t deny that I find her incredibly–”

 

“She’s still my daughter.” Kate reminded her with a chuckle.

 

“And that’s exactly my problem.” Serena admitted. “She’s your daughter and she’s twenty-years-old.”

 

“Serena, like I said, I don’t have a problem with it.” Kate assured her. “It might sound strange but… the more I think about it, the more I… I’m not sure? The more I approve, I suppose? If my daughter, my little girl, is going to lose her head and her heart over someone it _has_ to be someone who’s good enough for her. She chose well.”

 

“You think I’m good enough for your daughter?” Serena almost whispered, unable to quite believe the conversation she was having.

 

“I do. In fact, I was more concerned about _her_ hurting _you_.” The blonde admitted with a shrug. “But I have a feeling her outlook is about to change.”

 

“I…” Standing, a sudden calm seemed to descend over the brunette as she straightened her blouse carefully. “Can you ask Emily to come up to my office? I think we need to have a little chat.”

 

“Will do.” Osgood agreed, squeezing Kate’s hand in her own.

 

They watched Serena striding in the direction of the lift and then Osgood turned to look at her girlfriend closely. “Are you really OK with this? I mean… Serena was…”

 

“I’m really OK with this.” Kate agreed, lifting her girlfriend’s hand and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “Besides, when you get out of here I’m going to be far too busy to even think about what Emily’s getting up to.”

 

“Oh, really?”

 

“Really.” The blonde smirked, leaning in to kiss her tenderly.

 

* * *

 

Emily wasn’t sure whether her mother and Osgood were being serious when she returned from the shop with the puzzle book and they told her that Serena wanted to speak to her in her office. She frowned as they tried to convince her that they were deadly serious, not giving up until she made her way slowly towards the lifts.

 

Entering AAU, Emily glanced around at the commotion that was going on around the ward. She stepped back hurriedly as a bed flew past her, Fletch and Raf pushing it and shouting instructions as they went. Dr Digby ran after them, before making a U-turn and running in the opposite direction. Turning her head, she saw Serena striding across the floor, barking orders and looking totally in control. It made butterflies erupt in Emily’s stomach, especially when their eyes met and Serena paused for a moment.

 

“Ah, yes…” Serena nodded distractedly, pulling herself together and taking the gloves Morven held out to her. “Emily… could you wait in my office? I’ll be as quick as I can.”

 

“Uh… OK?”

 

Perching awkwardly on the edge of Serena’s desk, Emily chewed on her thumbnail, wondering what the other woman wanted to talk to her about. She knew what she hoped it would be about, but she was sure it wasn’t going to be that. A large part of Emily was convinced that Serena was about to tell her to go away and not so much as look in her direction again.

 

Emily didn’t understand what was happening. She had never been one to lose her head over an attractive woman, but here she was nervously waiting for the surgeon to come back. Emily couldn’t deny that she felt as though everything was resting on whatever Serena wanted to say to her.

 

While she was waiting, Emily couldn’t help her eyes roaming around the office. She slid off the desk and moved to look at the framed photo that sat on Serena’s desk. Smiling, she couldn’t resist reaching out and tracing the outline of Serena’s face with the tip of her index finger. Emily guessed that the younger woman in the photograph was Elinor, Serena’s daughter. Elinor was pretty, but she was nowhere near enough to distract Emily from the twinkling eyes, bright smile and breathtaking beauty of her mother.

 

“Sorry about that.” Serena breezed into the office, closing the door behind her with a click and making Emily jump and almost drop the photo frame back down on the desk. “Are you alright?”

 

“Err… yeah… I just… sorry. I was being nosy.”

 

“I think we need to talk.”

 

Nodding slowly, Emily perched on the desk once more, twisting her hands in her lap. She chewed her lip, looking anywhere but at the woman who had settled herself in the chair in front of her. They were almost touching; if either of them moved even slightly Serena’s leg would rest against Emily’s easily.

 

“You can’t even look at me.” The older woman pointed out in a quiet voice. Her head was a muddle of emotions and, now she was faced with the unusually quiet brunette, she was beginning to wonder whether Kate and Osgood had been wrong. “I thought that maybe you… that we could… but you don’t even want to look at me.”

 

Emily’s head snapped up. Her eyes widened at Serena’s words. “You… huh?”

 

“I see you inherited your mother’s eloquence?”

 

The younger woman grinned broadly at the arched eyebrow and amused smirk that were being sent in her direction. “Yeah, I’ve heard that one before.”

 

Serena suddenly turned serious, the smile dropping slightly from her face. “Emily… I’m too old to–”

 

“You’re _not_ old.”

 

“Don’t be ridiculous. Let me finish.” She ordered quietly. Standing up, she began pacing around the office, not looking at the other woman as she spoke. “I’m too old to be hurt again. I can’t… I can’t even consider getting myself into something that’s just a… a laugh… to you.”

 

Emily slid off the desk and moved to stand in front of Serena, grasping her gently by the shoulders and forcing her to turn and meet her eyes. “Serena, this isn’t just a laugh to me, I promise you. The first time I saw you I thought you were absolutely gorgeous and I knew I wanted to get to know you. You must have noticed that I came over to speak to you whenever I could? I’m not entire sure what this is… why I’m so drawn to you… but I’m deadly serious about wanting to find out. Please give me a chance?”

 

There was a pause while Serena considered Emily carefully and then, suddenly, her hands were everywhere. She pulled the younger woman towards her almost roughly, burying one hand in the dark curls and wrapping the other arm around her waist. Responding in kind, Emily kissed Serena furiously, backing her up against the metal filing cabinet and slipping one hand under the hem of her blouse, splaying her fingers against the warm, soft flesh of Serena’s stomach.

 

“No… wait…” Emily took a reluctant step backwards as she felt Serena nipping at the underside of her jaw, putting her hand on Serena’s chest and pushing her gently. “Serena, wait…”

 

“What?” Dark eyes flashed with a myriad of emotions as Serena tried to understand what was happening. “Is… have you… do you not…?”

 

“No! No, of course not. I want you, Serena. I _really_ do.” The younger woman surged forward again, almost desperately, cupping Serena’s cheeks with her hands. “No, I just don’t… I _really_ like you and I don’t want to get carried away here… in your office. I want it to be special.”

 

“OK.” The older woman agreed, leaning in and pressing a soft kiss against her lips. “Dinner tonight?”

 

Emily beamed. “Definitely. Your place?”

 

Serena chuckled. “I don't suppose your mother and Osgood fancy company this evening.”

 

“Neither do I.” Emily informed her bluntly. “Apart from you.” Leaning in, she kissed her again, lingering for a moment before reluctantly pulling herself away. “I’d better go and put them out of their misery… or at least cure their curiosity. See you later.”

 

Serena nodded, watching the younger woman leave her office. The door had barely closed before Emily darted back inside, wrapped her arms around Serena’s neck and kissed her again. Then, with a wink and a cheeky salute she was gone again.

 

Shaking her head, Serena leant against the door, touching her lips with her fingers and wondering just what she’d got herself into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now this is out of my system, normal non-Holby related service will resume!
> 
> x


	16. Bloody Derek and Martha.

A piercing scream woke Kate and Osgood, making them both sit bolt upright in bed, staring at each other in astonishment. Then they both scrambled out from underneath the duvet and rushed out onto the landing, looking around for the source of the sound.

 

“Em?” Osgood called as Kate peered into her daughter’s, empty, bedroom. “Em?”

 

“How could they do this to me?”

 

Hearing the younger Stewart’s plaintive cry from below them, Osgood and Kate ventured down the staircase and went into the living room. They exchanged a look at the sight of Emily lying on the sofa, face down, and waving her arms and legs around wildly.

 

“What on earth are you doing?” Kate asked, completely baffled by her daughter’s strange behaviour.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

“Bloody Derek and Martha!”

 

“Who?” Osgood asked, looking between the two Stewarts in puzzlement.

 

“Her father’s parents.” Kate informed her quickly. “What about them?”

 

“They’re in London with Violet, Anastasia, Mia and Liberty to look for bridesmaid’s dresses because apparently Aunt Isobel is getting married, again. Again! This is the fifth time! Who the hell needs to get married five times?”

 

“Right…” Her mother cocked an eyebrow. “And that’s made you throw a tantrum because…?”

 

“They want me to be a bridesmaid.”

 

“Oh.” Kate’s eyes widened and she nodded in understanding. “Well shit.”

 

“Exactly. This is the worst thing ever!” Emily wailed childishly, sitting up so that she could glare at her mother and Osgood. “Why do I have to be a bridesmaid? I only ever see them when I’m forced to go to their stupid weddings; most of which are Isobel’s. They hate me and they know I hate them. That’s why they’re doing this! They’re deliberately torturing me!”

 

“Don’t be dramatic.” Kate told her, rolling her eyes. “They’re your father’s family. They just want you to be part of their big family occasions.”

 

“You’re not invited.”

 

“Obviously. They actually _do_ hate _me_.”

 

“Gordy is, though.” Emily informed them, a smirk twisting her lips. “D’you reckon Violet will try chatting him up again?”

 

When Osgood looked concerned, Kate sighed. “Violet is Em’s eldest cousin. She’s got a bit of a thing for Gordy.”

 

“She drunkenly hit on him at her own wedding.” Emily said, grinning broadly. “It was hilarious. Her husband is too stupid to even notice what was happening. I thought Martha’s head was going to explode.”

 

“Rather like the time you very bluntly informed them you were a lesbian, then.” Kate deadpanned.

 

“Good times…” The younger woman agreed, smiling as she remembered that conversation. “Fun was had by all.”

 

“So, when are you going dress shopping then?”

 

“This afternoon.” Emily muttered, her mood plummeting instantly. “They’re picking me up at eleven so we can have a lovely lunch together and catch up on all my news. How d’you think they’ll take the news that my girlfriend is your ex and her daughter is older than me?”

 

Kate laughed. “Oh that I could be a fly on the wall in that restaurant.”

 

“Why don’t you go instead of me, then?”

 

“It’s our day off and we’ve got plans, sorry.” Her mother replied breezily.

 

“More important plans than saving your only daughter from a long and mortifyingly terrible day of pain and humiliation?”

 

“Yes.” Kate nodded simply. “We’re going to the supermarket.”

 

Emily threw herself back down on the sofa with a loud groan, completely missing the look that passed between the two older women standing over her. They left the young woman grumbling bad-temperedly as they retreated upstairs to get dressed, deciding that now they were up they should make the most of a rare day off together.

 

“It really won’t be as bad as she’s making out, will it?” Osgood asked, wriggling into her jeans. She turned around, smirking as Kate jumped and looked away hastily. It never failed to send a thrill through the younger woman when she caught her girlfriend appraising her with a hungry expression in her eyes. “I mean, her father’s family can’t be as bad as she’s making out, can they?”

 

“Oh, yes. It’ll be horrendous.” Kate nodded seriously. “They’re a complete nightmare.”

 

“So…?”

 

“Em will have a wonderful time.” The blonde replied, buttoning up her shirt and chuckling at the bewilderment on Osgood’s face. “She’ll complain nonstop and probably scandalise them so much that I’ll receive the traditional irate phone call from Daniel where he criticises my parenting skills and claims that he should have won custody when we split up, but Emily will thoroughly enjoy her afternoon.” Kate let out a loud laugh. “I, for one, can’t wait to hear Martha’s opinion on her hair.”

 

“I really don’t understand your family.”

 

“They’re _not_ my family.” Kate reminded her firmly. “Forget about them. Today is our day off.”

 

“Ah, yes, the supermarket calls.”

 

“Forget the supermarket, too.” The older woman laughed. “Let’s have a day out.”

 

Osgood arched an eyebrow, pausing with her arms in her t-shirt, just about to pull it over her head. “A day out?”

 

“Or we could stay in?” Kate suggested, stepping forward and yanking the t-shirt away from her girlfriend, leaving her topless and slightly breathless at the expression she was being regarded with.

 

“I _could_ do with a quiet day…”

 

Chuckling, the blonde invaded her personal space. She wrapped her arms around Osgood’s waist, smiling as she felt the younger woman’s arms moving around her neck and pressing slow, languid kisses against her lips. Letting her hands slip lower to cup Osgood’s bum, she squeezed gently, drawing a soft moan from her girlfriend and broadening her smile further.

 

Slowly Osgood undid the buttons that Kate had only just done up, pushing her shirt off her shoulders and letting it drop to the ground with a soft thud. Satisfied that they were now equally unclothed, the brunette threaded her fingers through the soft blonde curls that she so loved to touch, gently scratching Kate’s scalp with her nails. Kate let out a contented sigh, allowing Osgood the chance to deepen the kiss.

 

“Maybe I can tell them I’m ill?” Emily suddenly announced, throwing open the door and marching inside. She didn’t even spare her mother and stepmother a second glance as they sprang apart with identical shocked expressions on their faces. “Or… would you be able to do some kind of UNIT thing and close down Le Gavroche? I mean, Le Gavroche? Why? Why couldn’t we go to Pizza Express or somewhere _normal_? But no. Martha has to insist on bloody Le Gavroche! It’s all fucking French!”

 

“Emily!”

 

“What?” She blinked at them and then sighed, waving a hand dismissively at them. “Hurry up and get dressed. I need your help. Otherwise I’ll resort to blowing it up myself.”

 

“That girl really needs to learn some boundaries.” Kate muttered irritably as the bedroom door banged shut behind her daughter. She scooped her shirt of the carpet and pressed a quick kiss to Osgood’s lips before pulling it back on. “Anyone would think she’d been raised by wolves.”

 

“Well…”

 

“Ha ha.” The blonde rolled her eyes. “We’ll continue this later.”

 

“Yes, Ma’am.” Osgood teased, saluting her girlfriend before following her out of the room and down the stairs.

 

After managing to calm Emily down enough to bundle her out of the house when the doorbell rang, smiling and waving sarcastically to her septuagenarian ex-mother-in-law, Kate leant against the doorframe watching the expensive-looking car drive away. Osgood moved to stand behind her, wrapping her arms around the older woman’s waist and resting her chin on Kate’s shoulder.

 

“It will be alright, won’t it?”

 

Kate chuckled. “Of course she will. She’s over-dramatic, that’s all. Don’t feel sorry for her! She’ll have the best time.”

 

“Oh, I’m not feeling sorry for Em.” Osgood replied, leading Kate back into the house by her hand. “It’s everyone else I feel sorry for.”

 

Kate laughed again, dropping onto the sofa and pulling her girlfriend down, half on top of her. They curled up together, thoroughly enjoying the peace and quiet of an otherwise empty house. It was far too rare an occurrence that they had the opportunity to do things like this; between work and Emily having moved back home after being kicked out of university, they almost never had a free house. The two women traded occasional soft, lazy kisses and revelled in just being in each other’s company.

 

“We should really go and do the food shop.” Osgood reasoned with a deep sigh.

 

“I’m too comfortable.” Kate complained petulantly, burrowing further into her girlfriend’s side and hiding her face in her neck. “Don’t make me move.”

 

“You’ll be complaining even more when you start getting hungry and you realise there’s no food in the house.”

 

“We can get a takeaway.”

 

“There’s no wine, either.”

 

At once Kate was climbing to her feet. She stretched her arms above her head, causing her shirt to hitch up and giving Osgood a very welcome view of her toned stomach. The brunette smirked, having known that her last comment would stir her girlfriend into action, pulling herself to a standing position as well. Pressing a quick kiss to Kate’s cheek, the younger woman went into the hallway and shrugged on her jacket, winding her scarf around her neck.

 

“When you get an idea into your head, it’s full steam ahead, isn’t it?” Kate asked, slightly grumpily as she reluctantly reached for her own coat.

 

“The sooner we leave the sooner we can come back.” Osgood reasoned. “And we’ll have wine.”

 

With a huff, her girlfriend conceded the point and allowed herself to be dragged out of the house by her hand. After a quick conversation, during which Osgood persuaded her that calling for a UNIT car to take them shopping would be a complete waste of resources, despite the fact that it would make their trip significantly easier, they headed towards the express supermarket a few streets away. They had decided to just pick up the essentials, neither of them wanting to be out for longer than they really had to be.

 

They had just reached the alcohol aisle when Kate’s work phone started ringing. She rolled her eyes as she accepted the call, motioning towards the bottle of Merlot in Osgood’s left hand. Her face paled slightly as she listened to what the person on the other end of the line was saying. With a curt acknowledgement that she would be there as soon as was humanly possible, she pushed her phone into her coat pocket.

 

“There’s been a suspicious explosion just along Upper Brook Street from Le Gavroche; casualties in the tens, several fatalities. Police are currently at the scene, but they think the situation is more our speed.” She informed her girlfriend, her face slightly grey. Shaking her head, she pulled her mobile out again and searched for her daughter’s number in the speed dial.

 

“Emily…? She wouldn’t…?” Osgood breathed, her eyes widening as she remembered her stepdaughter’s threat from earlier that day.

 

“She better bloody not have.” Kate muttered, ditching the shopping basket in the middle of the aisle and striding towards the exit with her girlfriend on her heels. She pressed her mobile against her ear, waiting for the call to connect. “I’ll kill her myself if she has.”


	17. Oops?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s angst. I’m sorry. That’s all.
> 
> x

 

 “Take cover!”

 

There was a loud crash, a blinding flash of light and then a stillness and silence that seemed to deafen them in its intensity. Kate froze, lying on the hard ground with her hands over her head, protecting her from the impact of the blow and any potential debris. Her desire for self-preservation only lasted a moment or two, before she was leaping to her feet and surging forward towards the huddle of bodies on the other side of the massive crater that had formed.

 

She spotted Osgood at once, sprawled on the ground, her white lab coat catching the light from the truck’s headlights. Kate dropped to her knees beside her, reaching out to brush a strand of hair out of her slightly dazed girlfriend’s face.

 

“OK?” She murmured quietly.

 

Osgood nodded. “Fine. You?”

 

“Fine.” Kate agreed, glancing around at the rest of the bodies who were gingerly picking themselves up and dusting themselves down. She glanced at her phone, sighing deeply as she saw the notification on the screen. “Are you happy to stay and take samples while the dogs start the clean up operation? I need to get over to Marsham Street; the Home Secretary is on the warpath again.”

 

“No problem, Ma’am.” Osgood nodded, a small smile appearing at the corner of her lips. “Good luck.”

 

Nodding, the blonde sent her a fleeting smile before turning and striding away across the grass. Osgood watched her depart, before sliding down into the crater and moving quickly to the small, still glowing sphere at the very epicentre. Slightly hypnotised by the light, the brunette reached out to touch it, eyes widening at the crackle that shot up her arm as she made contact.

 

* * *

 

 

“Andrew? Can you chase Johnson in Lab C for the latest readings from the modulation amplifier monitoring the stasis chamber Osgood set up? Then I need you to get Sam Bishop on the phone… I am aware of that, Andrew. Goa is five and a half hours ahead of us, which, by reckoning, makes it just before eleven there. Now unless you’re trying to tell me that he has a strict bedtime, then… thank you.”

 

Shaking her head at her assistant’s uncanny ability to find problems with everything she asked of him, the blonde pushed her mobile back into her pocket and continued through the corridors of UNIT HQ. Her meeting with the Home Secretary had been long and tedious, going round and round in circles until, finally, they ended up where Kate had been attempting to direct them from the very beginning. Now, though, she was eager to find out what Osgood had discovered at the sight of the latest skyfall.

 

Turning a corner and entering the corridor where the main UNIT lab was located, Kate gasped, feeling as though her heart was being ripped out of her. As though someone had punched straight through her rib cage and was dragging her most vital organ out of her chest. Her breath caught in her throat, refusing to come as she simply stared at the scene playing out in front of her.

 

Osgood. Her Osgood. Her Osgood kissing someone that definitely wasn’t her. Her Osgood kissing a tall, muscular, currently unknown uniformed soldier. His hands around her waist and hers around his neck. Holding each other impossibly close. As tightly as she and Osgood held each other.

 

Kate swallowed thickly. She took a step forward; closer to the pair that were making the blood turn to ice in her veins. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Didn’t want to believe her eyes. The lump in her throat grew bigger the longer she stood and stared. And yet she couldn’t tear her gaze away.

 

“Osgood…” The name stuck in her throat and she turned away unheard, striding back the way she’d come with tears clouding her vision.

 

Stumbling back in the direction of her office, Kate barely noticed where she was going until she threw herself through the door and reached back to lock it behind her. She fumbled with the blinds, finally managing to twist the handle and close them, blocking herself off from the rest of the world. Dropping heavily into her chair, Kate stared blankly at her computer screen, numbness creeping through her as she struggled to avoid replaying the scene she had witnessed over and over again in her mind.

 

Reaching into her pocket with one shaking hand, she pulled out her mobile and swiped the screen. She found the number that she’d only recently dialled and hit the phone icon, holding the handset to her ear and waiting to hear the voice that she most needed to at that moment.

 

“Mum?”

 

“Em…” Unable to formulate words to explain what had happened she trailed off. A single sob broke free. It unleashed a wave of devastation, flooding through her entire body and causing her to sob loudly.

 

“Mum! What’s happened? What is it? Mum!”

 

“I… Osgood… she…”

 

“Is she alright?” Emily demanded, panicked. “What? She’s not…?”

 

“No.” Kate shook her head wildly, forgetting that her daughter couldn’t see her. “No, she’s not… she’s fine. She… I saw her… someone else… kissing… I…”

 

“OK, I’m coming. Now. Right now.”

 

“No… you can’t, you’re…”

 

“Pfft!” Emily snorted dismissively. “Hang on… Doctor? Oi! Eyebrows! I need to go home.” There was a mumbled argument in the background and then the young woman sighed deeply. “Yeah, yeah, nuclear winter, shnuclear winter. This is important… Yes, _more_ important!”

 

A creeping realisation moved over Kate. “Hang on… where are you? I thought you were with Serena?”

 

“Technically I’m on my way…”

 

“How?” Kate demanded, completely exasperated. “How did you manage to get dragged into that man’s world after everything I expressly…”

 

“That doesn’t matter now.” Emily informed her gently. “I’m on my way.”

 

Less than five minutes later, although to Kate it could have been seconds or hours, the door handle of her office rattled vigorously. The blonde stared at it, almost fearfully, until she heard a gentle utterance of her familial title and the tears that had been prickling in her eyes finally fell.

 

The sonic whirring sound alerted her to the fact that the Doctor was picking the lock on her office door and then she was being gathered into strong, familiar arms. The comforting scent of her daughter suddenly surrounded her and Kate felt safe as Emily hugged her tightly against her.

 

She clung onto the young brunette, sobbing loudly into her chest as Emily rubbed soothing patterns onto her back and rocked her gently. Emily whispered reassuring nonsense into her mother’s hair, peppering it with kisses to punctuate the comfort she was attempting to offer. Baseless promises and assurances she couldn’t possibly know whether were in her remit to keep or not fell from her lips as she did everything in her power to console her mother.

 

The Doctor, lurking uncomfortably behind them, muttered something about going to examine the laboratory provision, before darting out of the office and pulling the door closed behind him. The sound seemed to drag Kate out of her thoughts and she jerked, blinking at Emily as though only seeing her for the first time.

 

“Mum… what’s happened?”

 

Kate shook her head. “I don’t know…”

 

“You said you saw Osgood kissing someone else?” Emily screwed up her face in bewilderment; unable to reconcile that image with the woman she knew and was so fond of. “That doesn’t sound… Well, it doesn’t sound like Osgood. Are you sure…?”

 

“Completely sure.” Her mother nodded, reaching up to wipe her eyes. “It was inevitable, wasn’t it? What was she even doing with me in the first place? She’s gorgeous and funny and kind and…”

 

“And she loves you, Mum.” Emily assured her. “I’ve never seen anyone so devoted in my life. Frankly it makes me feel a little sick…”

 

Kate shook her head. “Don’t, Em. I know you’re trying to–”

 

“I’m not trying to make you feel better. It’s the truth.”

 

“So why?” Kate asked in a tiny, pitiful voice that clashed so dreadfully with the character of the woman Emily knew so well. “Why was she kissing someone else, so publically, somewhere where she must have known someone – even if it wasn’t me – would see her?”

 

Emily frowned. “That really doesn’t sound like Os. Are you sure it was her? Are you sure it wasn’t the other one? The Zygon one?”

 

“I recognised my own– I recognised Osgood.” The blonde snapped. “I would… anywhere… I can tell the difference.”

 

“But I don’t… could there be a reason? Could something have happened? You know… something alien?”

 

Kate scoffed, shaking her head. “Don’t be ridiculous!”

 

“Why is that ridiculous?” Her daughter asked, genuinely curious. “ _I_ think it’s more ridiculous to assume that Osgood would kiss anyone else for no reason.”

 

When the older Stewart simply made another scoffing noise and rounded her desk, dropping into her chair and snatching up her glasses, Emily sighed deeply. She watched Kate for a couple of moments, pain clenching at her heart as she saw the heartbreak written all over her mother’s face. Placing a hand on the office door, Emily announced that she was going to look for Osgood, feeling tears springing to her eyes as Kate barely acknowledged her words.

 

Unsure where to start looking for the woman in question, Emily wandered blindly around the UNIT base for a while. She peered into side rooms, opening doors and asking anyone she met whether they’d seen Osgood. A couple of smirks and hastily stifled laughs were given in response to her queries, but Emily shelved the questions that sprang to her mind.

 

Finally she caught sight of the woman she was looking for at the far end of a corridor. Rage boiled up inside her as the scene her mother had described met her eyes and she realised that perhaps Kate hadn’t simply been jumping to conclusions after all. Storming towards the pair, pressed up against the wall, Emily reached out and yanked the female scientist backwards by her arm.

 

“Osgood?” Emily’s face was thunderous as she advanced on the older woman. She stared the young man out as he looked between them nervously before scuttling away. “What the _fuck_ are you playing at?”

 

“What?”

 

“How could you do this to Mum, Os?”

 

“Again, what?”

 

“What the bloody hell is going on?” Emily demanded, completely bewildered by what was happening. There was something about the other woman’s expression that made her believe that she truly didn’t understand how she had upset them. “Osgood!”

 

Before she could do anything, let alone move, Osgood lurched forward and grasped her by the hips, pulling her forward and crashing her mouth against the young brunette’s. Emily squeaked in surprise, her eyes wide and her hands flapping uselessly at her sides as Osgood’s tongue found its way into her mouth.

 

After a couple of moments, Emily pulled herself together and placed her hand on the older woman’s chest, forcing her backwards. She stared, open-mouthed at Osgood, taking in her dark, lust-filled eyes with their blown pupils, her mussed hair and her red, kiss-swollen lips. There was something very definitely wrong with the scientist.

 

“Nope!” Emily darted sideways as Osgood lurched towards her again, holding her hands up in the older woman’s direction. “No, no, no!”

 

“What?”

 

Peering more closely at the other woman, Emily took in the dark eyes and immediately saw that there was something more than lust causing the overly large pupils; not to mention that the last time she’d seen Osgood, the woman’s irises definitely hadn’t been hot pink. Reaching out, she first placed the back of her hand across Osgood’s forehead and then grasped hold of her wrist to find her pulse. She swore under her breath as the blood thundered underneath her fingertips, her skin still hot from the searing heat of the scientist’s flesh.

 

“Right… let’s go.” She ordered, dragging Osgood behind her as she strode back through the corridors.

 

Catching sight of the Doctor in one of the laboratories to her left, Emily burst through the door and stopped abruptly. Osgood walked straight into her, using the opportunity to press herself close to the younger woman’s back, her free hand sliding round to cup Emily’s left breast and her mouth attaching itself to her neck.

 

“Get off!” The younger woman swatted at her, ducking away from the searching lips. “Doctor… we’ve got a problem.”

 

* * *

 

“Of all the people to get infected by a sex alien…”

 

Osgood hid her face in the blanket that was pulled over her and made an undistinguishable, but obviously embarrassed, noise. Kate smirked, reaching out to tug the cover away from her as Emily cackled loudly at her own assessment of the situation. The Doctor briefly glanced up from the monitor he was peering at, before burying himself in the information displayed on it once more.

 

“I’m really sorry…” The brunette scientist mumbled, meeting her girlfriend’s eyes and looking devastated at the pain she must have caused her. “I hope you know I would never, ever do that to you. I love you.”

 

“I…”

 

“Kate?”

 

“I may have lost my head for a while there.” The blonde admitted. “It seemed so obvious to me that… well… I’m sorry.”

 

“You’re all I’ve ever wanted, Kate.” Osgood reminded her. “Everything.”

 

Kate nodded wordlessly, a look of complete devotion in her eyes, causing Emily to roll her own. “You two are nauseating.”

 

“Speaking of nauseating,” her mother arched an eyebrow, “care to explain what’s going on here?”

 

The Doctor suddenly became very interested in a tinny knocking sound coming from the console room and disappeared, leaving the three women alone in the medical bay. Emily pulled a face, running her hand through her hair in a move that was entirely reminiscent of her mother. Kate arched an eyebrow, folding her arms and waiting for an explanation.

 

“I’m just… doing a bit of travelling…” Emily started weakly. “You know… seeing the universe…”

 

“Right… and when were you planning on informing us?”

 

“At some point…”

 

“Near or distant future?”

 

Osgood chuckled softly. “Give her a break, love.”

 

“Her getting broken is what I’m afraid of.” Kate replied, squeezing the hand in hers. “I’m just trying to protect–”

 

“Ah, ladies…” The Doctor poked his head around the door. “We’ve got a slight problem. Got to make a slight detour. Nothing to worry about.”

 

Kate’s face fell. “Oh, god…”


	18. Turn Left

Osgood was thrilled when the Doctor announced that he needed to make a slight detour. She propped herself up on her elbows on the bed she’d been tucked into in the med bay and grinned brightly at the man who, having caught Kate’s thunderous expression, was looking slightly wary.

 

Emily wasn’t at all thrown by the sudden announcement. She simply smirked and propelled herself out of the seat beside Osgood’s bed and across the floor towards the door. Kate watched as she immediately fell into what seemed to be a well rehearsed routine, wondering just how long her daughter had been travelling with the Time Lord.

 

“Where are we going, then?” Kate demanded, helping Osgood off the bed and following her daughter and the Doctor through the TARDIS corridors to the console room. “What’s happened?”

 

“Is it the solar flares over Dreslaytor?” Emily asked excitedly, grasping the handle of the scanner screen and dragging it away from the Doctor so she could see better.

 

He huffed and yanked it back towards himself. “No. I’ve set the alarm to go off as soon as they get close enough to be visible from the surface of the planet. This is something else. We need to make a detour because… well… the TARDIS needs a couple of parts.”

 

“Doctor?”

 

“I might have accidentally burnt out the–”

 

“So this is a stupidity induced need for parts?” Kate snapped, folding her arms over her chest.

 

“Kate…” Osgood reached out and laid a hand on her arm, feeling how tense the older woman was underneath her fingers. She knew instantly what the problem was, reading between the lines and realising that Kate was worried about what might happen. “I’m fine. Em can take care of herself. This is going to be great.”

 

“If anything happens to them…” Kate muttered in a low voice, not audible to anyone but the Doctor.

 

He held up his hands, silently promising that he would make sure that nothing did. She nodded curtly, before turning away and moving to lean against the railings that ran around the console. Osgood and Emily were listening eagerly to the Doctor, the younger brunette chipping in with cheeky comments every now and then, causing the Time Lord to roll his eyes and retort brusquely every now and then.

 

“Now, ordinarily I’d go to Calibris to see my old friend Soren. He could get me anything the old girl needed. Amazing place, Calibris… used to be filled with brigands and everything you could ever want. Shame about the rejuvenation…”

 

“You said ordinarily you’d go to Calibris… are we not going there now?”

 

The Doctor shook his head. “No… too many memories… painful… we’ll try Cognatius instead.”

 

“Cognatius? That is not a real place.” Emily retorted with a snort.

 

“It is!” The Time Lord looked indignant. “You take the second left after Anthium.”

 

“See, now I _know_ you’re just messing with me.”

 

“What’s Cognatius like?” Osgood asked, unable to stay quiet any longer.

 

The Doctor shrugged. “No idea, never been there before. I’ve heard good things, though.”

 

Kate looked decidedly irritated as the Doctor danced around the console room, drawing Osgood and Emily with him as he went. She was excited at the prospect of the chance to see a new alien planet without the usual threat of the complete destruction of humanity attached, but the fact that was usually thrown into dealing with such situations was making her worry.

 

“Andddd we’re here!” The Doctor announced, slamming down the landing lever and darting towards the doors. “Welcome to Cognatius!”

 

The three women followed, stepping out of the police box onto the brand new planet that none of them had ever visited before. A variety of different creatures bustled around them in, what appeared to be, a busy, noisy, slightly smelly market place. Stalls and shop fronts exploded with light and sound everywhere they looked, traders calling out to the passing shoppers and people hurrying form one place to another.

 

They wandered through the market for a while, cautiously trying the offerings of food and drink that were held out to them by various stallholders. Kate had the unfortunate experience of taking a large sip of Gelfrudy Marsh Wine which, after closer inspection, turned out to simply be a vat of muddy swamp water. Emily laughed so hard at the expression on her mother’s face that tears rolled down her cheeks and she had to told onto the Gelfrudian’s stall to stop herself falling over. After a disgruntled smack to the shoulder, she pulled herself together enough to apologise to her mother, crossing the market to buy a packet of the Rem cookies Kate had particularly liked as a peace offering.

 

“D’you think Serena would like this?” Emily mused, holding up a large orb filling with shimmering, shifting colours. “It’s nearly her birthday…”

 

“Have you actually told her about the whole ‘aliens are real’ thing?” Osgood asked, tilting her head curiously.

 

“Not exactly…”

 

“Maybe something a little less alien, then.” Her stepmother reasoned, joining her beside the stall and perusing the wares. “What about this?”

 

Osgood held up a long, delicate silver chain that ended in several interlocking circles. Inside each circle was a different coloured jewel, as bright and brilliant as a flawless diamond. They were red, green, blue, purple and, in the centre, a clear gem which could easily have passed as a diamond.

 

“You know who would _really_ like that?” Emily murmured, lowering her voice and glancing over her shoulder meaningfully. “Christmas isn’t _that_ far away…”

 

“I’ve already… I mean… I’ve sort of…”

 

“What?”

 

“I bought a ring…”

 

Emily’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. Before Osgood could stop her, she let out a high-pitched squeal of delight and hugged the older brunette tightly. The Doctor and Kate glanced over at them anxiously, both frowning as they watched Emily jumping up and down as Osgood simply stared at her in discomfort.

 

“This is amazing news!” Emily gushed, hugging her again. Then she paused, taking in the flush of embarrassment on Osgood’s face. “Hang on… you do mean a _ring_ ring, right?”

 

“Yes, a _ring_ ring.” Osgood rolled her eyes. “I want Kate to marry me.” She pre-empted the shriek that was about to leave her stepdaughter’s mouth and grasped her shoulders gently. “You cannot say anything. You know more than most how hard it is to surprise your mother. This has got to stay a secret, alright?”

 

“I won’t say anything.” Emily promised. A moment passed and then the younger woman glanced at the necklace in Osgood’s hand. “So… the necklace…”

 

“Serena will love it.” Osgood said with a smile.

 

Beaming, Emily paid the stallholder and carefully put the tissue-wrapped necklace in her jacket pocket, zipping it up securely. When they re-joined Kate and the Doctor, Osgood skilfully avoided answering any questions about Emily’s behaviour and the younger woman simply shrugged and pointed towards a flashing light in the distance.

 

The Doctor, immediately distracted, led them through the crowds towards the sign. He stopped abruptly, causing all three women to walk straight into the back of him, examining a plaque on the wall closely.

 

“No, Doctor, no.” Kate shook her head vehemently as he reached out and grasped the door handle in front of them. “I don’t like the look of this.”

 

“Kate Stewart! You’re not going all soft and scaredy–”

 

“You are not taking my daughter or my girlfriend into a place like that, Doctor!” The blonde snapped. “Even if you’re not worried about them, I am.”

 

“Kate, I promise I wouldn't knowingly put either Osgood or Emily into a situation which–”

 

“Not good enough.”

 

“Mum, you’re being unreasonable.” Emily pointed out, rolling her eyes at the overprotectiveness of her mother. “I’m a big girl. I get up to plenty of things you wouldn’t approve of when you’re not around. The Doctor tries his best, but he can’t stop me.”

 

“I have tried.” He assured the blonde seriously. “Your daughter just will not be told.”

 

“No… I know.”

 

“Girl in every port, this one. I thought Captain Jack was bad!”

 

“Not helping, Doctor.” Emily grumbled, a pink tinge colouring her cheeks. When Kate arched an eyebrow at her, she shook her head vigorously. “Also, totally not true. I’m very much reformed; I’m a one-woman girl now.”

 

“We just need to go inside, procure the necessary parts and leave again.” The Doctor informed Kate with a shrug. “Simple.”

 

“Oh, you’ve done it now.” Kate sighed, rolling her eyes. “Whenever you say something’s– Argh!”

 

No sooner had the Doctor pushed open the door than he let out an uncharacteristic squeal and disappeared, headfirst into the darkness. Emily, leaning forward, was quick to follow. Kate grabbed for her daughter, being pulled along with her, dragging Osgood in by her hand. They tumbled down through the darkness until, with a soft thud, they landed in a heap on something soft.

 

“You know what this reminds me of?” Emily asked, straining her eyes to look around in the darkness, trying to make out where they were.

 

“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.” Osgood replied immediately. She couldn’t see it, but she was sure Kate was rolling her eyes. “Devil's Snare.”

 

“Precisely, Os. Anyone got a lighter?”

 

“That’s exactly what we need!” The Doctor exclaimed from somewhere off to the left. “We need to fight this off with light and fire!”

 

Emily turned towards the sound of his voice eagerly. “Really?”

 

“No, of course not. Don’t be an idiot, Emily Stewart.”

 

There was a scuffling sound and then a bright light shone directly into Osgood’s eyes. She winced, ducking away from the source, only for Kate to apologise and lower her phone so that the torch wasn’t shining straight at her girlfriend’s face. Following suit, Osgood and Emily opened the torch apps on their phones as well and the four of them traipsed along a dank, dark passageway in the hopes of finding their way out.

 

“Which way?” Kate asked as they arrived at a fork, glancing left and then right.

 

“Aren’t you supposed to always take the left path?”

 

“In a maze.” The blonde sighed, shooting her daughter an exasperated look. “Hopefully this isn’t a maze, though. Doctor?”

 

“Turn left…” The Time Lord murmured, something flashing through his eyes for a moment. Then it was gone and he was on the move again. “Seems as good an idea as any.”

 

They walked for a long time, twisting and turning. There didn’t seem to be much logic to the choices the Doctor was making in regards to the direction they were taking, but finally they found themselves emerging into daylight once more. Privately each of the women thought it was down to luck, more than judgement, but they said nothing and simply followed the Doctor as he led the way towards a building a little way ahead of them.

 

Osgood was just about to suggest he approached this new building with a little more caution than the last, when the door flew open and a bright blue creature appeared. It was about four feet tall with a tuft of purple hair on the top of its head and bright orange fingers and toes. The three women gaped at the creature, but the Doctor let out a bark of laughter and leapt forward to shake its hand.

 

“Mexfoord!” He exclaimed, pumping the strange little creature’s arm up and down in an enthusiastic handshake. “How are you, old chap?”

 

“Doctor! What a nice surprise!” Mexfoord squeaked in a high-pitched, nasal voice. “What brings you here?”

 

“I had no idea you lived on Cognatius! How long has it been? Several decades at least?”

 

“About fifty years, I should think. The wife and I moved here when I retired. Got a pretty nice settlement from the mining company after three centuries service.”

 

The Doctor beamed. “I’m glad to hear that!”

 

“Doctor?”

 

“Ah!” As though suddenly remembering his companions, the Time Lord turned and waved a hand in their direction. “Mex, this is Kate Stewart, Osgood and Emily Stewart.”

 

“A pleasure to meet you.”

 

“Likewise.” Kate assured him politely, before rounding on the Doctor. “Not to be rude, but is this going to take long, Doctor. I have a video conference with Sam Bishop that I really need to–”

 

“Yes, yes, yes…” He rolled his eyes, looking at Mexfoord conspiratorially. “Humans, am I right?”

 

The creature laughed; a high, wheezy sound that made Osgood genuinely concerned for his wellbeing. “You’re right.” Then he shrugged. “What brings you here? Anything I can help you with?”

 

“Any chance you know of anywhere where I can get some magnetite round here? The TARDIS klister valves are running low. I might also need a new tremulator and photon accelerator coil.”

 

“You should try Bet-BlugHwer’s mechanisms stall in the market. He usually has a good supply of different transportation parts. You can’t miss it. Take a left at the Felspoonian outdoor equipment stall and a right at the Clomish pharmaceutical stand.”

 

“Excellent, thank you, Mex.” The Doctor shook his hand enthusiastically again. “Give my love to the wife and kids. Come along, gang. We’ll get those parts and I’ll have you home in time for tea with the queen.”

 

Each sending Mexfoord a weak smile, the three women hurried across the mudflats towards the cluster of buildings in the distance that the Doctor seemed to be heading for. After briefly explaining that Mexfoord was a Badoon – not to be confused with a baboon – from the planet Shpeesh, he said very little else. He shepherded them towards the shop they had been told about, purchased the parts he required and before they knew it they were back in the TARDIS, hurtling through the Vortex and back to Earth.

 

It was just a shame they were two weeks late and ended up with a lot of explaining to do.


	19. Bad Bridesmaid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays, lovelies! :)
> 
> x

“Remind me again how this happened?” Kate hissed, leaning closer to whisper in her girlfriend’s ear.

 

“They invited you and Emily begged you to come.” Osgood reminded her, squeezing her hand. “You’re wrapped around that girl’s little finger.”

 

“So now we’re sitting in a church waiting to watch my dreadful ex-sister-in-law getting married for the fifth time. My overbearing and frankly despicable ex-mother-in-law is sending us a death stare, while my ex-husband is fawning over his latest young, blonde, girlfriend.” She groused, pouting lightly. “This is not where I want to be spending my Saturday.”

 

“Do you think there’ll be doves?” Osgood whispered after a couple of moments where the couple had sat in silence simply listening to the string quartet playing Vivaldi; Autumn from the Four Seasons, if the scientist wasn’t very much mistaken. “They've got an orchestra and Emily assured me that there will be six courses at the reception and a nine tiered cake.”

 

Kate blanched. “Oh, dear god…”

 

“It’s the only reason I came.” Her girlfriend shrugged, keeping her expression neutral. There was another long pause and then, “Does Em have to make a speech?”

 

Several indignant, disapproving looks were shot in their direction as Kate completely lost control. She laughed loudly at the question, pressing her hand over her mouth in a futile attempt to stop the sound that was reverberating around the church. Osgood glanced sideways and caught Kate’s eyes, unable to help the snort of laughter that erupted at the sight of her silently shaking girlfriend. From several pews in front of them Emily’s grandmother turned and sent them a fearsome scowl, causing both women to bite their lips together, eyes dropping to the floor.

 

The opening chords of ‘ _Hallelujah_ ’ being played by the string quartet saved the couple and they rose, along with everyone else, to watch the bridal party entering. Kate was forced to look back down at her shoes as she caught a glimpse of the expression on her daughter’s face as Emily processed along the aisle between her cousins; the young woman’s features twisted into an embarrassed scowl as she steadfastly avoided looking at anyone. She couldn’t have looked less thrilled to be there if she had tried.

 

“That dress really is horrible.” Osgood murmured as her stepdaughter passed them and moved to sit in the pew behind her paternal grandparents’. “It clashes with Em’s hair.”

 

“I think that was the point.” Kate admitted. “I think Martha was hoping she’d be encouraged to dye it back to a ‘normal’ colour.”

 

They sat through the ceremony, standing to sing and making the appropriate responses when they were required to. Neither were particularly sorry when the congregation rose for the final time to watch the newly married couple leave the church. Kate and Osgood both waved wildly, grinning broadly as Emily walked out with the other bridesmaids and chuckling appreciatively when she sent them the finger along with a sarcastic smile.

 

Kate tried hard to convince her girlfriend that they didn’t actually need to attend the reception at the fancy hotel, but Osgood reminded her that they’d promised Emily and Gordy that they’d be there to offer moral support. With a deep sigh, complaining all the way, the older woman trailed after her girlfriend, announcing that the promised six-course dinner was the only thing stopping her turning and leaving straight away.

 

“I hope you’re ready for this?” Kate muttered, glancing at Osgood before pushing open the double doors and striding into the elegantly decorated ballroom. “Welcome to the deepest circle of hell. Oh, the fun we’ll have…”

 

“Surely it can’t be–”

 

“Kate!”

 

“Oh, hell…” The blonde rolled her eyes at her girlfriend, before turning and finding herself face to face, or rather face to the biggest hat she’d ever seen, with her ex-mother-in-law. She fought to keep her expression neutral as she took a step backwards to avoid the brim of the woman’s hat ending up in her mouth when she spoke. “Martha… how lovely…”

 

“A pleasure…” The seventy-seven-year-old responded with a sneer that completely negated her words. “The children are looking… well.”

 

“They’re doing great.” Kate agreed, unable to keep the proud smile off her face as she caught sight of Emily and Gordy deep in animated conversation a little way ahead of them. “This is Os–”

 

“Now, about Emily’s current situation.” Martha cut her off, not even glancing in Osgood’s direction, despite the fact that Kate had gently pulled her forward, her arm wrapped around the younger woman’s.

 

“C–Current situation?”

 

“She informed us that she is no longer studying Linguistics and Social Anthropology.”

 

Kate inhaled sharply. “No, she’s not at Manchester anymore.”

 

“And what steps have you taken to rectify the situation?”

 

“Err…”

 

“I assume you have done _something_ , Kate?” Martha said, arching her eyebrow.

 

“Oh, yes, I did something.” The younger woman agreed with a tight smile. There was no way she was about to inform the other woman that her response had been to scare the life out of the man who had been the cause of her daughter’s expulsion from university by setting a troop of UNIT dogs on him. “It’s dealt with.”

 

Martha narrowed her eyes slightly, surveying Kate closely. “How?”

 

“I’ve discussed different options with her and–”

 

“Discussed?” The older woman scoffed. “No, no. See… this is why I told Daniel that Emily should have gone to live with him after the divorce. Look at her… just look!” Martha waved her hands in the direction of the woman in question, drawing attention to her as she kicked off her shoes and liberated two glasses of champagne off the tray of a passing waiter, downing one immediately before dropping into a seat at her designated table. Kate winced as her mother-in-law smirked triumphantly. “She needs taking in hand. Perhaps she should come and live with Derek and I for a while?”

 

“I don’t think–”

 

“She needs firm boundaries, high expectations, a direction in life.”

 

“But, I honestly–”

 

“It’s settled then. Emily will fly back to New York with us on Monday.”

 

“Martha!” Kate’s eyes flashed dangerously. “That is not going to happen. My daughter–”

 

“Goodbye.”

 

Kate watched open-mouthed as the older woman walked stiffly away without a backwards glance. Osgood wrapped a hand around her wrist and shook her head as the blonde made to follow. Shaking her head, she directed Kate instead to the seating plan and found their seats. Only when they were settled at the table did she speak.

 

“Don’t go shouting the odds. You’ll just embarrass yourself and the kids and then she’ll win.” Osgood reasoned in a low voice, entwining her fingers with Kate’s in the blonde’s lap. “Re-group and we’ll tackle her later. Besides, there’s no way Emily will allow herself to be dragged away to live with her grandparents.”

 

“You’re right… you’re always right…” Kate sighed, pressing a kiss to the corner of Osgood’s mouth. When the brunette simply shrugged, she smiled. “I love you.”

 

“I love you, too.”

 

They were joined at their table by the rest of the guests directed there by the seating plan. It became crystal clear just how much Emily’s father’s family thought of them when they realised that their companions were the bride’s hairdresser and her husband, the groom’s accountant and his wife and the dog groomers. Osgood snorted with amusement at the strange assortment of people they were seated with, especially when Kate huffed in irritation.

 

Finally the speeches and the meal – only four courses to their immense disappointment – were over and the room was being rearranged for the dancing. Kate and Osgood headed for the small veranda that led directly from the ballroom, eager to get some air and avoid making conversation with any of the other guests.

 

They were out of luck, however, as Martha grasped hold of Kate’s arm just before they gained their freedom.

 

“What’s all this nonsense Emily’s spouting about having a girlfriend? One old enough to be her mother, at that!”

 

“Ah, yes, Serena.” Kate nodded, her eyes flashing dangerously. “She’s lovely and very, very good for Em.”

 

The older woman spluttered. “It’s outrageous! How can you possibly condone this?”

 

“It’s Emily’s life and they’re her decisions to make. I wouldn’t dream of telling her–”

 

Her ex-mother-in-law sighed deeply and wafted a hand at her, as though trying to get rid of a particularly irritating fly. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re her mother. It’s your job to tell her when she’s going off the rails and making bad choices. It’s clear that your daughter needs a better role model in her life than you. She’s wild, rude and clearly needs taking in hand. What you’ve been doing for the past eleven years I have no idea, but raising your daughter properly clearly _hasn’t_ been one of your priorities.”

 

Osgood stepped forward, unwilling to simply stand and listen to her girlfriend being attacked. “Mrs Hanson, I understand that you’re worried about your granddaughter, but I don’t think attacking Kate–”

 

“And who, precisely, might you be?” Martha demanded, clearly on a roll. “Ah? Are _you_ the PA Daniel told me about? The one who’s a little too friendly with her boss? I guessed Kate was going through some kind of mid-life crisis, but this?”

 

Rooted to the spot in disbelief, neither woman seemed able to formulate the words necessary to respond to the vile comments the elderly woman had made. Kate opened and closed her mouth several times, shell-shocked by the diatribe aimed in their direction. She knew how vicious Martha could be, but never before had she been subjected to such an attack in public. Their arguments were usually confined to being played out behind closed doors.

 

“Oi, losers! May I have your attention, please?”

 

A shout from the centre of the room dragged all three women’s attention inwards. Kate audibly groaned as she realised the cause of the commotion. Osgood slid her hand down her girlfriend’s arm and tangled their fingers together, squeezing Kate’s hand reassuringly.

 

“That settles it, first thing Monday morning she’s coming to New York.” Martha announced, almost spitting with anger at her granddaughter’s behaviour.

 

“Em!” Gordy hissed audibly, reaching out and tugging on the skirt of his sister’s dress, attempting to pull her down off the chair she was currently standing on. “Get down, you idiot!”

 

Placing a hand over her eyes for a brief moment, Kate took several steadying breaths, before striding out across the floor towards her daughter. She put her hands on her hips and glared up at the younger woman, who shot a weak smile at her and wiggled her fingers in an approximation of a wave.

 

“Get. Down.” Kate hissed, scowling furiously. “I don't know what the hell you think you’re doing, but you are embarrassing Osgood and Gordy and me, so stop. Now. How much have you had to drink?”

 

“Not nearly enough to cope with this shit. I saw Martha going for you and I thought I’d distract her.” Emily leant down and confided in her, with more grace than she had any right to possess in her current state. “Did it work?”

 

“Oh, it worked alright… you’ve just got yourself a one-way trip to New York.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Yeah.” Kate nodded at her daughter, attempting to drag her down off the chair. “Your grandmother has decided I’m not fit to raise you… or… be around you… or… well… she thinks you should…”

 

“I’m already raised! Risen? Rosed?” She looked confused for a moment, before shrugging. “I’m already grown up.”

 

“Debatable.”

 

“I’m not going anywhere!”

 

“No, you’re _not_ going to New York – I won’t allow your Grandmother to take you anywhere – but _we_ are leaving right now.” Her mother informed her. “I’m not staying here to be spoken to like some kind of… like shit on your grandmother’s shoe. And she sure as _hell_ isn’t going to speak to Osgood like that.”

 

“What did she say to Osgood?” Emily demanded, her voice dropping to a dangerous tone and her eyes narrowing.

 

“Considering I’m over here talking to you, I have no idea what she could be saying. Now, get down.”

 

“No! I’m holding a formal protest.”

 

Kate huffed, glancing towards her son. “Get her down, Gordy.”

 

The twenty-nine-year-old glanced at his mother quickly, before stepping forward and grasping his sister by the legs. She shrieked as he unceremoniously slung her over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift. Half-heartedly banging his back a couple of times as he carried her through the assembled family and friends, Emily straightened up, saluting the watching crowd with a cheeky grin.

 

“Tonight, for one night only, there’s a free bar – but only if you’re under thirty, blonde and catch my dad’s eye. I’ve been Emily Hanson, thank you and goodnight!”

 

“Emily Hanson?” Gordy asked, setting her down on the ground in the lobby of the hotel and holding her steady as Kate set her shoes down in front of her and Osgood firmly shut the double doors to the ballroom.

 

“I’m hardly going to use the hallowed Stewart name in this situation, am I, Gordon?” She scoffed, rolling her eyes at him and wobbling dangerously on the spot. “When I do embarrassing shit, I’m always a Hanson. It’s the right and proper thing to do.”

 

Kate sighed deeply, leaning heavily into Osgood’s side as the four of them headed for the entrance. “Whatever it was, let’s get out of here before your family descend. I’ll unplug the landline and deal with them in the morning. I really dislike you, sometimes, Emily.”


	20. Swan Diving from a Moving Plane

“Emily… I need you to stay calm.” Osgood informed her stepdaughter as gently as she could manage in the current situation.

 

“I’m calm.” The young woman assured her, quite content in her current position with her head on Serena’s lap. “What is it? Have you broken another one of my mugs? Is it the Evil Queen one?”

 

“No. It’s not a mug. I mean… your mugs are fine. It’s…”

 

Emily furrowed her eyebrows at the seriousness of the other woman’s tone and sat up, dislodging Serena’s hand from where it had been distractedly playing with a strand of her hair while she read her medical journal. Shooting her a curious look, the older woman received a shake of her girlfriend’s head in response. Emily stood up, beginning to pace as she waited for Osgood to continue.

 

“What, Os?” She was unable to restrain herself when there was nothing more.

 

“You’re with Serena, right?”

 

“Os!” Emily exclaimed. When she heard a sob from the other end of the line she sat down heavily on the coffee table. “You’re scaring me! What’s wrong?”

 

“There was an accident at work. I–”

 

“Mum?” She gasped, the phone slipping out of her grasp.

 

Serena blinked at her for a moment, before snatching the handset off the floor and holding it to her ear. “Osgood, it’s Serena? Are you alright? What’s happened?”

 

“Serena… hello… I…. Is Emily OK?”

 

“She’s…” The woman glanced towards her girlfriend quickly, sighing at the pained expression on her face. “What’s happened to Kate?”

 

“There was an accident at work.” Osgood repeated. “She had an accident. Kate fell… she was injured and…”

 

“How badly?” Serena demanded. “What kind of injuries has she sustained?”

 

“I… I’m not sure… we’re at… hospital. We’re at the hospital.”

 

“Which hospital?”

 

Emily glanced up at the question, a spark of hope flickering in her eyes. “She’s alive?”

 

Serena nodded, before repeating her question to Osgood. Getting a response, she promised they’d be there as quickly as was humanly possible and passed Emily her phone back. Taking her by the hand, she gently pulled her out inside the hallway, and attempted to push her towards the staircase.

 

“No… no. We have to go… I need to go…”

 

“You can’t go out like that, my darling.” Serena told her gently, cupping her cheeks. “We need to get dressed first.”

 

Emily looked down at herself, as though she was just realising that she was dressed only in underwear and one of Serena’s shirts. Her girlfriend was similarly attired in an old t-shirt and pyjama bottoms. Nodding wordlessly, the young woman allowed herself to be led up to Serena’s bedroom, where they dressed quickly.

 

Driving through the traffic towards St James’, the hospital where she had been informed Kate had been taken, Serena kept a tight hold on her girlfriend’s hand. She glanced sideways every so often, wondering just what kind of accident Kate could have had to cause so much worry in her daughter’s eyes. She didn’t see what kind of an accident a Civil Servant, however senior she was, could have had to cause such panic. Emily was constantly on the verge of tears, chewing her lip anxiously and flexing her fingers every so often, before squeezing Serena’s tightly.

 

Emily was still silent as they approached the reception desk, so Serena took charge of the situation. She naturally fell into the role, demanding to know where Kate was and, as soon as they were directed to the appropriate ward, she insisted on knowing what was wrong with the blonde. Being on the other side of the hospital experience was strange for Serena who was so used to being in charge. She could do very little now but sit and offer reassurances and comfort to Osgood, Emily and Gordon.

 

“What happened, Os?” Emily asked in a small, broken voice.

 

The doctor had just left. She’d come in to explain what they were doing for the unconscious blonde who was hooked to various IV bags and a ventilator, although they had been assured that it was just a temporary measure and Kate would be taken off it as soon as possible. She was incredibly pale and looked oddly small in the hospital gown that she was wearing in place of her usual trouser suit and blouse. Serena was shocked by the extent of her injuries, incredibly curious about how she could possibly have sustained them in an office environment.

 

Osgood shook her head in its position resting on her palm as she stared unblinkingly at Kate. Her other hand tightly held Kate’s, stroking her knuckles gently. Gordon shifted in his chair, eager to hear his stepmother’s explanation of what had caused their mother to be in the state she was.

 

“Os, please?”

 

“She fell… from Boat One.” The scientist almost whispered, her eyes never leaving Kate.

 

“Was it something to do with those robots?” Gordon asked tensely. “Were they–?”

 

Osgood shot him a stern look. “This isn’t a story for your newspaper, Gordy.”

 

“No, of course not, I just…”

 

“What robots?” Emily asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

 

“Cybermen.”

 

Both of Kate’s children gaped at their stepmother. They had heard stories about the Cybermen from their mother and grandfather since they were tiny, but neither had actually seen one before, which was why Gordon hadn’t instantly recognised them. Emily, too wrapped up in Serena, hadn’t even realised that anything out of the ordinary was going on outside their little bubble that afternoon.

 

“But how did she fall?” Emily pressed. “What happened?”

 

“She was on Boat One with the Doctor and other me…”

 

“Other…” Serena looked a little pale and totally confused, not having any idea what they were talking about. “Doctor? Which doctor?”

 

“No, babe, _THE_ Doctor.” Emily reached out and squeezed her knee, silently promising that she would explain some other time. “But…”

 

“The Master is back…” Osgood said her voice full of foreboding. Both Emily and Gordon knew just how much weight those words carried and, at precisely the same time, both gasped loudly. “She’s a woman now, but she’s back and she… it was her. The Doctor told me… the Mistress blew part of the fuselage of Boat One off and Kate… Kate was sucked out.”

 

Serena put a hand to her head. “I’m sorry… what are you all talking about? Who is this Mistress person? How on earth can Kate have been sucked out of a plane? She would be–”

 

“Your Grandfather…”

 

“Grandpa is dead.” Emily reminded her, more bluntly than she’d intended to.

 

“Yes.” Osgood nodded vigorously. “The Cybermen were converting the dead… that’s how they built their army. Your Grandfather, the Brigadier, he was obviously too strong to be… He caught Kate and took her to the Doctor. Clara called me and here we are.”

 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Serena admitted, slightly warily, as the machine beside Kate started beeping insistently, “but I do know what that means.”

 

She reached over and pressed the alarm that would alert the nurses to a problem, before ushering Osgood out of the way and releasing the catch so that Kate’s bed lay flat. By then, the medical team had arrived and Serena took a step backwards and let them take over. A nurse gently guided them out of the room, closing the door firmly and shutting the blinds.

 

Emily turned and buried her face in Serena’s neck, grabbing fistfuls of her shirt and taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. She barely noticed the circles her girlfriend was rubbing on her back, or the hand that threaded itself through her hair as Serena held her close. Gordon wrapped Osgood in an equally tight hug, feeling her trembling as they waited to see what was going on in the side room.

 

Finally, after what felt like hours, the door opened and the doctor emerged. She smiled tightly and informed them that Kate was stable and that they had removed the tube that had been assisting her breathing because she no longer needed it. Promising to be back soon, she headed away across the ward and the four pale figures returned to the bedside.

 

“What about the Mistress?” Emily asked suddenly, a dark tone lacing her voice.

 

Osgood’s head snapped up. “No, Em.”

 

“I’ll kill her.”

 

“You and I both know it’s not as simple as that.”

 

“She almost killed Mum!”

 

“Not quite…” Everyone turned at the croaky voice, relief filling the four pairs of eyes that regarded Kate as she blinked several times against the harsh light and attempted to pull herself into a more comfortable position against her pillows. “She hasn’t finished me off just yet.”

 

“Mum!” Emily almost threw herself at her mother, prevented only by the arms of her girlfriend holding her back gently. “How are you feeling? Does it hurt?”

 

“No, I feel fantastic.” Her mother replied sarcastically. “I’m raring for round two.”

 

“Os says the Mistress did this…”

 

“Em, leave it.” Osgood hissed at her, seeing the fire burning in her stepdaughter’s eyes.

 

“Emily, Osgood is right.” Kate tried to nod. “I don’t want you getting involved in UNIT business. We’ve had this conversation before and nothing has changed.”

 

“What’s UNIT?” Serena asked, looking between the three women.

 

Gordon seemed to have retreated slightly to let them have the current discussion between themselves without getting involved. He’d witnessed the same conversation enough times to know it never ended well for anyone who tried to intervene. Instead, he sent Serena a small shrug and leant back in his chair.

 

“It’s where Mum works.” Emily told her distractedly.

 

“I thought you worked for a Government Department?” Serena questioned the blonde, narrowing her eyes. “I thought you were a Civil Servant?”

 

“It’s… it’s a long, complicated… thing… I’ll explain later.”

 

“You will not!” Kate told her daughter firmly. “By rights _you_ shouldn’t even know.”

 

Rolling her eyes, Emily shot her girlfriend a look that said she would explain everything later. Serena still looked totally puzzled by the whole situation, but she said nothing further. Instead she allowed Emily to perch on the arm of the chair she was sitting in and wrap an arm around her shoulders, tracing patterns on her upper arm distractedly.

 

They sat in silence for a while, before, “So… can I borrow your car on Friday, please, Mum?”

 

“Really? You’re asking me now?”

 

When Kate shot her a look, the younger Stewart woman simply shrugged and sent her an innocent smile. “What? I know you’re not dying now.”

 

“What do you want my car for?”

 

“Dad wants me round for dinner, but I am so not up for that, so I’ve told him I’ve got to go and visit Sarah Jane… Said she’s got contacts that might be able to get me a job. Total lie, but hey!”

 

“If you’re going to visit Sarah you can return the–”

 

“Yeah, I’m not actually going to her house.” Emily shrugged.

 

“So why do you need the car?”

 

“Bucket told me about this party over in–”

 

Kate shook her head. “Absolutely not.”

 

“Why not?” Her daughter whined, momentarily distracted as Serena placed her hand on her knee. “So unfair…”

 

“Every time you go to a party Bucket has told you about something goes wrong. There was meeting Pippa, the police raid, the broken ankle, Pippa, losing everything you took with you and having to walk home from Camden, Pippa getting you arrested.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah… you don’t like Pippa, I get it.” Emily huffed. “But that wasn’t Bucket’s fault…”

 

“Really? So Bucket didn’t introduce you to her knowing full well what you’re like?”

 

“I don’t think this conversation is particularly–” Osgood muttered, watching the line measuring Kate’s blood pressure spiking.

 

“Bucket has my back.” Emily informed her bluntly. “Bucket is my brother from another mother; he’s my oldest friend.”

 

“Bucket got a bucket stuck on his head.” Gordon pointed out helpfully. Emily leant sideways and attempted to kick him in the leg. “He’s a moron.”

 

“The bucket incident was _technically_ my fault and won me like a hundred quid.”

 

“Which you then had to give Connie Cartwright’s mother to pay for the damage Bucket caused.”

 

“Yeah, yeah…” Emily shrugged, pointedly ignoring the baffled expression on Serena’s face.

 

“Who on earth is Bucket?”

 

“She hasn’t told you about Bucket?” Gordon asked, stifling a laugh. “Ahh… how to describe the being that is Bucket.”

 

“His real name is Oliver Charlsworth.” Kate explained as her daughter tried, and failed, to kick her brother again. “He and Emily have been best friends since they were four. When they were thirteen, Em bet he couldn’t do a headstand in a bucket and so he had to prove her wrong… only he got his head stuck; hence the nickname.”

 

“He’s a tool.” Gordon said bluntly, dodging as his sister launched herself at him again. “I have seen his naked ass on our sofa far too many times after they’ve rolled in after a night out. Whenever Em gets into trouble, Bucket is always there too.”

 

“Anyway…” Emily shrugged, “I’m still not going to go to Dad’s.”

 

Kate shrugged, leaning back against the pillows. “That’s fine by me; he’s a dick.” She let her eyes slip closed, suddenly feeling very tired. “You can all go now… I want to sleep.” As she felt Osgood moving, she tightened her grip on the brunette’s hand. “Not you. You stay… You stay with me…”

 

Chuckling, Gordon pressed a kiss to his mother’s forehead and squeezed Osgood’s shoulder affectionately before saying goodbye to Emily and Serena and leaving the room. They followed suit, promising to come back and visit soon, receiving a mumbled acknowledgement from Kate and a grateful smile from Osgood.

 

“Tell me more about this Bucket fellow.” Serena requested with a smirk as they walked out of the hospital, hand in hand, a lot more relaxed than they had been when they arrived. “And then I think we should have a conversation about UNIT.”


	21. Babysitting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last update of 2016! Happy New Year and let's hope 2017 is better than this year has been!
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading, reviewing, following and favouriting! It's very much appreciated!
> 
> x

“Are you sure you don’t mind doing this?” Osgood asked Kate for about the twentieth time. They were standing in the doorway of their house watching Osgood’s sister unloading her children from the back of her car. “Normally my parents would have them, but Mum’s really not well and Grace has to go to her meeting. If you’re not feeling up to it–”

 

“Os, it’s fine. _I’m_ fine.” Kate assured her with a smile, squeezing her hip gently and pressing a kiss to the side of her head. “You never know, it might be fun.”

 

Osgood looked at her like she was mad. “Ah… really? I’m not so sure. Children and I don’t exactly…”

 

“How much time have you actually spent with children? I mean _with_ children… not just in the vicinity of children.” The blonde asked, arching an eyebrow at her. When her girlfriend gave a small shrug of her shoulders she smiled. “Exactly. I think if you give it a chance you’ll really love it. Maybe then…”

 

“What?”

 

“I don’t know… maybe one day…”

 

Osgood shot her a strange look. “Maybe one day… what?”

 

Kate had opened her mouth to speak when a small voice distracted them both and they turned to see Osgood’s nephew grinning up at them. “Hi, Aunty Nell! I’ve lost another tooth!”

 

“Well done?” She responded, slightly unsure of the correct response to that piece of information.

 

Beside her, Kate rolled her eyes. “Wow, James! Did the tooth fairy come?”

 

He nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah and he left me two pounds under my pillow.”

 

“Two pounds?” Osgood’s eyebrows shot up. “Inflation’s really hit…”

 

“Thank you so much for doing this at such short notice.” Grace smiled between the two women as she led her daughter towards them by the hand. She handed two backpacks to her sister, ushering the four-year-old past them into the house. “I really owe you one.”

 

“Yeah, you do.” Osgood told her; unable to hide the smile that was twisting her lips. “Good luck at the meeting.”

 

“Thanks, Nell… Kate. I’ll call you when I’m on my way to pick them up.”

 

With that, she was rushing back towards her car and reversing off the drive. Osgood glanced at Kate and then the backpacks in her hand. She sighed deeply and retreated into the house, closing the door behind her. Dropping the bags onto the floor beside the coffee table, she looked at her niece and nephew, who were staring at her expectantly from the sofa.

 

“So… what do you guys want to do?”

 

“Hairdressers.” Louise announced, blinking up at her aunt.

 

James huffed, folding his arms. “No! That’s so boring! I want to play star wars! I want to explore!”

 

“Err… how about colouring?” Osgood suggested hopefully, earning a resounding negative response from the children.

 

“Please Aunty Nell…” Louise implored her.

 

“Tell you what, why don’t you play hairdressers with Louise and I’ll take James here into the jungle outside the backdoor. It’s not quite space, but it’s well worth exploring.” Kate suggested, taking pity on her girlfriend. “When your Aunty Nell looks even more beautiful than usual and the fearless explorer here has discovered everything there is to discover in the jungle, we’ll have a snack and decide what to do next. Alright?”

 

“Yesss!” James grinned at the blonde and scrambled off the sofa. He held out his hand to Kate, allowing her to lead him through the kitchen and out into the garden.

 

Kate smiled fondly as the six-year-old thoroughly explored their garden, remembering Gordon at his age. Her son hadn’t been much of an explorer, not really liking to get mucky if he didn’t have to. Emily, on the other hand, was always covered in mud and cuts and bruises, unwilling to back down from a challenge; something that often got her into trouble with adults and other children.

 

Every now and then James would rush back towards her to eagerly show or tell her about something he’d found, occasionally grabbing her hand and dragging her away from her potting shed to see for herself. She smiled at his excitement, promising him that as soon as the frogspawn appeared in the pond or the birds started nesting in the hedge he would be the first person to know.

 

Finally he got bored of running around and returned to her side, slipping his hand into hers and looking up at her beseechingly. “Do you have any of Aunty Nell’s cookies?”

 

“I’m afraid not, love, but we do have Jammy Dodgers.”

 

He considered her for a moment and then nodded. “They’ll do.”

 

Chuckling, Kate led him back to the house and settled him at the kitchen table with the biscuit tin and a glass of squash before heading into the living room to rescue her girlfriend. She stifled a laugh at the sight of a thoroughly miserable Osgood who was having her hair plaited by her niece.

 

“Beautiful.”

 

“It is, isn’t it?” Louise nodded her approval. “I can do yours later, Aunty Kate.”

 

“I will look forward to it.” She assured her, shooing her into the kitchen to join her brother. “You look adorable.”

 

Osgood grumbled, pulling the elastic bands out of her hair and running her fingers through it to remove the plaits. Kate stopped her before she could tie it back neatly, threading her own fingers through the dark locks and using the position of her hands on the back of Osgood’s head to pull her in for a kiss.

 

“Ewww!” James laughed, suddenly appearing in the living room and covering his face with his hands. “Gross!”

 

Osgood blushed, but Kate merely laughed. “Really gross.”

 

“Oi!”

 

Kissing her girlfriend swiftly, the blonde winked. “Now, sweetheart, what would you and your sister like to do next?”

 

x-x

 

Pausing in pushing Louise on the swings Kate glanced at the display of her mobile, frowning lightly as she read her daughter’s name. Clamping it between her ear and her shoulder, she stopped the swing and lifted the little girl out.

 

“Hey, love, what’s up?”

 

“I’ve got a problem.” Emily sighed, sounding thoroughly miserable. Kate could instantly tell that it was something that was really bothering her.

 

“What’s happened?”

 

“Serena’s really pissed off with me. We were supposed to go out for lunch, but she suddenly claims she’s got lots of work to do and shut herself in her office.”

 

Kate paused for a moment, before walking across the play park to sit on the bench beside her girlfriend. When Osgood shot her a curious look, Kate lowered the phone from her ear and put it on speaker so they could both hear.

 

“What did you do?” She asked, guessing immediately that Emily had caused the problem. Turning to Osgood, she rolled her eyes. “She’s upset Serena.”

 

“Why do you automatically assume that it’s my fault?” Her daughter groused.

 

“Prior experience.” Kate replied bluntly. “So? What did you do?”

 

“I may have accidently implied that she was acting like my mother…”

 

Her actual mother sighed, rubbing her forehead tiredly. “How?”

 

“I told her to stop acting like my mother…”

 

“Oh, Em!” Osgood exclaimed. “Why would you say that?”

 

“Because she was asking me about what I was planning to do… university and all that… going on and on about it…”

 

“Well I think we’d all like to know what you’re–”

 

“Not the time.” Osgood muttered, shaking her head at the blonde beside her.

 

“So what do I do?” The younger woman wailed through the speakerphone.

 

“Apologise?” Kate suggested, glancing at her girlfriend who simply shrugged.

 

“Obviously I’ve already done that. I’m not completely dense.” Emily muttered. Kate guessed that she was rolling her eyes as well. “Any other advice? I don’t normally have to deal with all this… usually I don’t care if–”

 

“I really think you just need to apologise and make sure she knows you mean it, Em.”

 

“Or grovel, even.” Osgood suggested.

 

“Well… she won’t let me in the office, so… What would you two do in this situation?”

 

“I really don’t think I’m the best person to ask about this…” Kate told her, looking over to the climbing frame where the children were playing.

 

“Oh!” There was a soft snigger from the other end of the line. “I understand.”

 

“Em… just talk to her.” Osgood said. She blinked in bemusement as her niece ran over and clambered into her lap, curling into her. Awkwardly she wrapped her arms around the little girl, patting her several times on the shoulder before allowing herself to relax. “Let her see how sorry you are.”

 

“Should I be fully clothed for that part, or…?”

 

“Emily!” Her mother snapped. “Small ears present.”

 

“Oh! You’ve got the munchkins. I completely forgot! How’s it going?”

 

“Good… I think even Os is having a good time.”

 

“Wow!” Emily laughed. “So, which small ears are listening? Is it snot-box or puke-face?”

 

Louise giggled. “Puke-face!”

 

“Ahh, greetings earthling. How goes it?”

 

The little girl grabbed for the phone, wanting to speak to her step-cousin. Kate handed it over without argument, frowning at the device as though her daughter could see her reaction. “You really shouldn’t call them that… I don’t think their mother likes it.”

 

“She’s not there… is she?”

 

“No.” Her mother assured her.

 

“So it’s fine.” Emily replied firmly. “So, puke-face, what’ve the parents been making you do? Clean toilets? Scrub floors?”

 

“Noooo!” Louise giggled again. “We’re at the park!”

 

“They never take me to the park. What’s so special about you two? You can’t even swear yet.”

 

“Will you teach me, Emmy?”

 

Osgood hastily took the phone off her niece, handed it back to Kate and stood up, balancing Louise on her hip. “I think we’re going to see the ducks.”

 

As she watched her girlfriend carrying Louise towards the river, calling to James who ran over to join them, Kate smiled fondly. She thought that, given the chance, Osgood would make an excellent mother and, not for the first time, a small shiver of regret passed through her at the thought that it might not happen.

 

“Mum?”

 

“Hmmm?”

 

“You OK?” Emily asked softly. “I’m sorry I interrupted your day. I’ll… I’ll figure this out, I guess…”

 

“No, love, it’s OK. I just…”

 

“You’re going all gooey-eyed over Os with the kids, aren’t you?” Her daughter asked. Kate could picture the fond smile on her face. “She’d make a fantastic mum.”

 

“She would…”

 

“If you’re thinking you’re too old, then stop it.” Emily ordered, suddenly serious. “So what if Gordy and I are grown up? That shouldn’t stop you and Os having kids if that’s what you want. You know we’ll support you whatever happens.”

 

Kate let out a quiet sob. “Oh, Emily…”

 

“Mum?” The young woman was instantly worried. “What? What is it?”

 

“Nothing… I just… sometimes I don’t know what I did to deserve you and Gordy and Os…”

 

Emily laughed, relaxing slightly. “You silly old goose… you’re you. That’s what you did. We all love you because you’re _you_.”

 

“Did… did you just call me a silly old goose?” Kate asked, laughing softly and wiping at her eyes.

 

“I might have done.” Her daughter admitted. “Now… I think you need to go and tell Os you want to get her pregnant and I need to go and show Serena just how sorry I am.”

 

“Well, that’s… right.” Kate wasn’t really sure how to respond to her daughter’s assessment of the current situation, so she simply said goodbye and ended the call.

 

Pushing her mobile into the back pocket of her jeans, Kate picked up the bags beside her on the ground and wandered in the direction of the river. She smiled, dropping the bags on the grass and moving to stand behind Osgood, wrapping her arms around the brunette’s waist and resting her chin on her shoulder.

 

“Alright, love?” Osgood asked softly, placing her hands over Kate’s on her stomach.

 

“Mmm…”

 

“I think I’m getting the hang of this ‘children’ thing.” The younger woman admitted as they watched Louise chasing James in circles around a tree trunk.

 

“Good,” Kate sighed, “because I think you’d make a wonderful mother.”

 

Osgood twisted in her arms, furrowing her brow. “What?”

 

Kate took a deep breath. “I think… I think we should maybe think about…”

 

“You want to have a baby? With… with me? Really?”

 

“I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have a baby with.”

 

“I… I need some time to think…” Osgood admitted, chewing her lip.

 

“Of course.” Kate nodded as her girlfriend turned away. “Take all the time you need. Whatever you decide, it’s fine by me.”

 

She wondered briefly whether she’d ruined everything. But then Osgood leant back against her, pulling Kate’s arms around her waist once more and she sighed, pressing a kiss to the side of the brunette’s head.


	22. Someone's Got a Little Crush

"Why is Kate going to Edinburgh again?" Osgood asked, frowning at Andrew. The personal assistant shrugged, not in the least bit fazed by her scowl.

"The Secretary of State for Health asked for her, personally." He informed the scientist. "He needed her to go up and help with something."

"What?"

"It's classified." Andrew said with a small smirk, clearly pleased to know something she didn't.

"The Health Minister has personally asked for Kate's help five times in the past three months. That doesn't even include the weekly meetings they attend together at Whitehall. She's almost spending more time with him than she is with me."

The young man shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you. Ms Stewart will be in Edinburgh with the Health Minister for the remainder of the week and possibly longer."

Glaring at him, deciding that he was taking far too much pleasure in the situation, Osgood stamped away from Kate's office. She fumbled in her pocket for her mobile, selecting her girlfriend's number as she made her way up and out of the base under the Tower of London. She was due a break and decided that she might as well take it now.

"Os?"

"Kate… you're going to Edinburgh?"

There was a long, tired sigh in response to her question. "Apparently so. I tried to delegate, but the Minister wasn't having it. He's adamant that I'm needed on this one."

"What is it? Need backup?"

"I would love you to join me, but you're up to your neck in field and data reports. I'm hoping this will be over and done with in a day or so."

"Andrew said you'll be gone until at least the end of the week."

"He did?" Kate sounded puzzled. "What does he know that I don't? Unless he was just trying to wind you up."

"Maybe I should come up anyway." Osgood suggested hopefully. "You're bound to need another pair of hands and with Serena away on that course Emily will be moping around the house."

"As I said, I'd love you to come, but you really do have a lot on your plate at the moment. The Defence Secretary will be less than amused if we don't get those files in on time and we're already in her bad books after the Luton fiasco." Kate sighed. "Besides, you love spending time with Emily… unless something's happened?"

"No, nothing." Osgood assured her quickly. "She just keeps asking me about…" She trailed off, clamping her lips together and mentally kicking herself for almost telling Kate the secret she'd been keeping for several months. "Well… nothing important. Just… inappropriate Emily questions."

"Hmm…" It sounded as though Kate was suspicious about that abrupt twist to her girlfriend's sentence, but she didn't push the matter. "I'll get this sewn up as quickly as I possibly can, alright, love?"

Nodding reluctantly, Osgood ended the conversation and headed back inside to carry on with the files Kate had mentioned. She buried herself in paperwork for a couple of hours, managing to make a sizable dent in the reports that had been piling up with more important and interesting things to command her attention. After a while, Malcolm wandered over to ask her opinion on some simulations he was running.

"So do you think we'll get a true reflection, considering the obvious differences in atmospheric density?" Osgood asked him, peering at the vacuum in front of her.

"Possibly not." He admitted, but based on the readings that Ms Stewart sent back from Edinburgh, I think–"

"Kate's sent us readings?" The woman asked interestedly, turning away from the simulation to look at him. "Let's have a look. Two heads are better than one and all that…"

They poured over the numbers together for a while, cross-referencing them against the detailed report Kate had filed about her findings as she examined the location she had been sent to investigate. There was nothing, as such, to give them any ideas about what they might be dealing with, but Osgood and Malcolm managed to spot some similarities with previous cases they'd dealt with which gave them some idea of how to proceed.

"If we could assess the gamma levels we could–"

"I doubt Ms Stewart thought to take–"

"It's OK." Osgood assured him hurriedly, already planning her next move. "I'd like to go and look around for myself. I'm sure I'll be able to find out much more if I can actually take readings personally."

Malcolm looked at her knowingly, but simply shrugged and started reeling off a list of equipment that she should probably take with her to Scotland. Nodding, interjecting every now and then, they gathered everything they could think of and Osgood called one of the technicians over to help her carry everything out to one of the UNIT jeeps.

"Shall I let Ms Stewart know you're coming?" Malcolm asked, glancing at his watch.

She smiled. "Let me get a head start first. Give it a couple of hours and then let her know I'm on my way."

* * *

Osgood indicated and turned into the car park in front of the large, expensive-looking hotel that Kate was apparently staying at. She ignored the Sat Nav telling her to do a U-turn and parked in a space close to the entrance. Locking the car, she pulled out her mobile and made her way quickly into the building, pulling her duffle coat closed and nuzzling her nose into her scarf against the cold.

"Osgood."

"Kate." She smiled and leant forward, intending to kiss her girlfriend quickly.

The blonde turned her head sharply, meaning that Osgood's lips landed on her cheek instead. It was only then that the scientist realised that Kate was dressed smartly and wearing her coat, obviously about to leave the hotel and go somewhere else. Frowning, Osgood took a step backwards and shot her a confused look.

"You look nice… where are you going?"

"Just dinner… with… er… the Health Minister." Kate informed her, glancing at her watch. "Nothing important."

"Oh… OK. Have dinner with him often?"

"Only when he's dragged me away from London. It beats eating alone." She glanced at Osgood, spotting the frown on her face instantly. "You can come, obviously. We'll just get someone to take your bags up to my room."

What followed was a very awkward introduction in the hotel lobby when the Health Minister, evidently only expecting to be dining with Kate, turned up and found Osgood standing beside her girlfriend. Completely ignoring his somewhat irritated expression, Kate swept through the doors with Osgood and waited for the man to open the car door for them.

"So, Ms Osgood, what is it that you actually do?"

"I'm a scientist. My main job is to monitor the alien tech that we scavenge from various sky fall events and work out how we can use it safely."

"You do more than that, Os," Kate told her fondly, "she's my right-hand woman, Minister."

"Stuart, please." He said with a smarmy smile. "So you monitor technology? That sounds quite… passive?"

"Oh, I can assure you that it is  _far_  from passive, Stuart." Kate replied immediately. "Osgood does an incredibly difficult job."

"Right…" The Minister spared the brunette a cursory glance, before returning his full attention to the woman beside her. "So, Kate, I think you were going to tell me about that film you watched recently?"

"Which film?"

"The Accountant, was it? The one with Ben Affleck?"

"Oh!" Kate nodded quickly. "Yes, it's very good. I'm pretty sure Osgood only wanted to see it because of Anna Kendrick…"

"Not true!" Her girlfriend defended herself at once, blushing.

"I'd recommend it. We enjoyed it, anyway, didn't we Os."

"We did."

"Do you usually choose action films?"

Kate laughed and shook her head. "Lord, no. I get enough of that sort of thing in my daily life. I would normally choose a comedy or a chick flick. Osgood's more of a fan of films that you actually have to think about. Then again, I am normally asleep about fifteen minutes into any film!"

"Perhaps we could go and see something while we're here?" The Health Minister suggested smoothly, fixing Kate with a toothy smile.

"Perhaps." Kate replied guardedly, laying a hand on Osgood's knee under the table as she sensed her girlfriend tensing. "Depends which film you were thinking of?"

"You said you liked chick flicks, what about that new Julia Roberts film?"

"We've already seen it, haven't we darling?" Kate said, looking at Osgood with a smile. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the man frowning in confusion. "The ending was a bit of a shocker."

"It was." Osgood agreed with a smirk. Unable to help herself, she leant in and pressed a quick, chaste kiss on her girlfriend's lips.

"Oh!" The Minister's eyes widened comically and his gaze flicked between the two women. "Oh, so you're… OK. Well. Wonderful. Yes…"

"Shall we get the bill?" Kate suggested, smirking in amusement at his flushed, flustered face.

"Good idea…"

"I'm rather looking forward to an early night." The blonde told him with a wink. "If you know what I mean…"

The Health Minister waved his hand so wildly in his attempt to attract a waiter that he knocked his wine glass over and started mopping up the spillage almost desperately. Shooting a glance at her girlfriend, Kate chuckled and squeezed her thigh under the table.


	23. The L Word

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is Emily/Serena based, with mentions of Kate/Osgood, so if you're not fussed about them feel free to skip this chapter :)
> 
> x

"What on earth are you watching?" Serena asked.

She had been leaning in the doorway for the past ten minutes, watching her girlfriend with an affectionate, amused smile on her lips. Emily was stretched out along the sofa on her stomach, one arm dangling so that her fingers brushed the carpet, staring at the television screen. Every now and then she would snort with laughter, even giggling delightedly at times. Serena couldn't work out what she was watching. It was evidently a film she had never seen before; characters dressed in some approximation of Tudor outfits, prancing around the screen and occasionally falling over.

"Hmm?" Emily jumped at the sudden intrusion to her viewing time. "You're home early?"

"Not really." Serena shrugged, moving to sit on the sofa. Immediately Emily shifted so that she could snuggle into her side, one arm draped across her stomach and her head resting on her shoulder. "My meeting with Hansson was shorter than I expected and Raf was happy for me to leave a little early. The traffic was lighter than normal, too."

"Excellent. More snuggling time."

The older woman chuckled. "What  _are_  you watching?"

"Carry on Henry… it's a classic."

"Ahh…" Serena nodded slowly.

When she said nothing else, Emily twisted her head to look up at her girlfriend under her fringe. "What?"

"I've never seen it before."

"What?" Emily looked shocked. "The Carry On films are so you… also…"

Serena arched an eyebrow as the younger woman trailed off. "Also?"

"I've had a massive crush on Joan Sims in those films for like… forever."

"Ah, you and your love for middle-aged women…" Serena teased.

"You're the  _only_  middle-aged woman I'm in love with, actually."

Serena whipped her head around to stare at the other woman. Emily's eyes widened a little as she realised what she'd said. Sitting up slowly, the younger brunette turned to sit cross-legged on the sofa, looking directly at her girlfriend. Serena was still staring at her in surprise, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly.

"Umm… Rena?" Emily chewed her thumbnail as she searched Serena's eyes for a hint as to what she was thinking. "You still here?"

"You… You love…"

Rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly, Emily dipped her head and avoided making eye contact. Her hair fell across her face, hiding her blush from her girlfriend.

"Well… I didn't mean it to… I never intended it to sound…"

"So you don't?"

"No!" Emily's head shot up. "I mean, yes."

"What?" Serena shook her head, frowning lightly in confusion.

"Yes I do… love you, I mean. But I just… I didn't mean to tell you like that… accidentally. I've never actually said it before, so..." She sighed. "Eurgh… I totally messed this up."

"You love me?" The older woman reached out and placed two fingers under Emily's chin, tilting her face towards her. Serena's eyes searched Emily's, seeing nothing there to contradict her words.

"I adore you."

"You…"

"And I know it's too much… too soon… so I'm sorry."

"It's…" It was Serena's turn to look away, unable to hold Emily's gaze. "It's not too much or too soon. I… I just never thought…"

"What, babe?" The younger woman asked softly.

"I never thought I'd hear you say that. Not to me."

Emily slid off the sofa and knelt in front of her girlfriend, reaching out to grasp Serena's hands tightly. She leant forward, resting her forehead against the other woman's knees. Attempting to formulate a sentence that would explain exactly how she felt about that statement and Serena in general, Emily simply sat in silence. Nothing she could think of would sum up her feelings for the woman in front of her, or just how much it hurt her to think Serena didn't realise just how much she meant to her.

"Serena… I…"

"I love you, too."

Raising herself up on her knees, Emily surged forward and kissed Serena fiercely. She wrapped one arm around the older woman's back and let the other trail slowly up her thigh. Serena sighed into the kiss, placing her hands on either side of her girlfriend's neck. With a mischievous giggle, Emily leant backwards and pulled Serena off the sofa. They toppled backwards onto the rug, the older woman landing on top of her girlfriend with a squeak of surprise.

"Em… here?" Serena breathed, struggling to think straight as Emily flipped them over and gently bit the underside of her jaw. "On the floor? I'm too old for–"

"Nope. Never." Emily smirked, yanking the two sides of Serena's blouse apart, sending buttons flying in every direction. "Oops…"

* * *

"So… you told Aunty Serena?"

"Told her what, Jase?" Emily asked, glancing over her shoulder at her girlfriend's nephew.

"That you love her."

"Oh… yeah. Yeah I did, actually. How do you know that?"

"She told me." He replied simply. "She was smiling a lot at work earlier and I thought she might be ill, so I asked her what was wrong. She told me that you said you loved her."

"Right." Emily almost laughed at the idea that Serena smiling a lot at work would make her nephew think she might be ill.

"Did you do it in the way we discussed?"

Emily shook her head. "Not exactly. It kinda just… came out." She chuckled at the double meaning behind her words. "A bit like me."

Jason frowned in confusion, not seeing what was funny about what she'd said. "Like you, how?"

"Like how I came out… when I told people I was a lesbian."

"But everyone already knows that? Why do you need to tell them again? Do they forget?"

"No, it was a… never mind."

"So… do you think Aunty Serena might tell people that she's got a girlfriend now?" He continued, accepting the mug of tea Emily handed him. "Now that she knows you love her, I mean?"

Emily stiffened and stopped with the bottle of milk halfway to her own mug. Clenching her jaw, she added milk to her coffee and returned the bottle to the fridge, not speaking until she had stirred her drink and dropped the teaspoon in the washing up bowl.

"She hasn't told anyone?"

"Well… I know, obviously. I think perhaps Mr Griffin might know, because he keeps sending her these looks that make Aunty Serena blush."

"But… no one else?" The young woman did her best to look nonchalant, leaning against the counter and taking a large gulp of coffee. It had never crossed her mind that Serena might not have told her co-workers that she was in a relationship. "She… they think she's still single?"

Jason shrugged, clearly growing bored of the conversation. "I don't know. Mr Di Lucca said he was going to set her up on a blind date the other day and Aunty Serena just laughed and told him not to be silly. I don't understand why he would want to send her on a blind date? Surely it would be better if she knew the person she was meeting? What if she doesn't like them?"

"That's kind of the… never mind." Emily wafted a hand at him distractedly. "Why wouldn't she…?"

He studied her carefully for a couple of moments, his face screwed up in concentration. Emily felt a little uncomfortable under the scrutiny and attempted to busy herself by wiping down the counters. It didn't take nearly as long as she'd hoped and so she found herself turning and finding Jason still staring at her.

"You think she doesn't want to tell people about you?" He asked, apparently far more perceptive than she'd given him credit for. "Do you think she's embarrassed?"

"I… I don't know." Emily admitted quietly, clutching her mug tightly as though it was a shield. She wasn't used to feeling like this, not being sure of herself. "Maybe… I mean… she's… she's Serena fucking Campbell and I'm… well… me?"

Jason nodded understandingly. There was absolutely no sympathy in his expression and neither did he attempt to placate her. "Yes. But I think maybe she was worried."

"Huh?"

"I think Aunty Serena was worried that if she told people you were her girlfriend and then you decided that you didn't want to be her girlfriend anymore people would laugh at her."

"But I…"

"But you love her and now she knows that it'll be OK. She might take you to the staff Christmas party in two weeks. I thought she would already have asked you to make sure you're free because it's on a Saturday night, but maybe she will now." Jason informed her with a decisive nod, turning to leave the kitchen. "Thank you for the tea. Pointless is about to start and I don't want to miss the beginning."

"OK, Jase… thanks…"

As he disappeared from sight and Emily heard the sound of the television turning on in the living room, the familiar theme tune meeting her ears, she leant heavily against the counter once more. Placing her mug down on the surface behind her Emily put her head in her hands and sighed deeply. She was so lost in thought about whether Jason's take on the whole situation was true or not that she completely missed the sound of the front door opening and Serena calling out to them.

"You look thoughtful." Serena observed, pressing a kiss to Emily's cheek and making her jump. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing… sorry… I… nothing."

"Em? Are you OK?"

"Mmm…"

"Emily?"

"Jason said that you're having a staff Christmas party in two weeks." She blurted out before she could stop herself. "He thought you'd already invited me but…"

"Oh…" Serena's face fell slightly. "It's not–"

"I understand if you're embarrassed about being with me." She continued, almost not even noticing her girlfriend had spoken. "I mean… you're this shit hot, sophisticated, amazingly talented surgeon and I'm… I got kicked out of university for punching a lecturer. I'm a mess. I totally get it if you don't want–"

She was cut short by Serena, who put her hands on either side of Emily's face and kissed her firmly. Emily gasped with surprise, allowing her girlfriend to deepen the kiss, pressing her back against the counter and pushing her thigh insistently between the younger woman's.

"I am  _not_  embarrassed about being with you." Serena breathed, as they broke apart for air. "Far from it. I would have thought it would be the other way round…"

"Never."

"I just…"

"Go on." Emily prompted, lifting herself onto the counter behind her and pulling Serena closer. She wrapped her legs around her girlfriend's waist and started tracing her cheekbones, the line of her jaw, her neck and her collarbones with the tips of her fingers.

"That's incredibly distracting." Serena sighed. Emily stopped mapping her skin with her fingers and the older woman immediately missed the contact. She pouted petulantly. "I didn't say stop…"

Chuckling lightly, she resumed her actions. "Sorry, babe. But say what you wanted to say."

"It's just… the last time… when your mother left, supposedly to go to the Ukraine, most of AAU witnessed me begging her to stay. Those in the hospital who didn't see it were told about it pretty quickly. The aftermath was horrendous… I was the laughingstock of the hospital." Serena confided; her head bowed so that she wouldn't have to meet the other woman's eyes. "I couldn't bear it… if I told them all and…"

"I would never–"

"You can't promise me that, Emily. You can't promise that this is forever." Serena told her softly. "You're young, you're–"

"Maybe I can't promise," she admitted, just as softly, "but I would never do anything that would make you a laughingstock."

"Kate didn't mean–"

"No, I know." Emily nodded. "But I… I've  _never_  felt like this about anyone, Rena. The thought of spending so long in anyone's company made me feel physically ill. But you… I feel ill when I'm  _not_  with you. I'm not going anywhere, babe. I love you."

Serena let out a long, low breath, raising her head to meet the younger woman's eyes. "What are you doing next Saturday?"


	24. Dropping the A-bomb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been ages, I know. I'm so sorry!

"I think we need to have a little chat."

Emily's eyes widened and she leant backwards so that she could peer around the open fridge door at her girlfriend. She had a sneaking suspicion about what was heading her way, but she tried to play dumb in the hopes she was wrong. "Sure… What's up?"

"You've avoided my questions long enough and I think it's time you told me the truth about your mother's job and where you actually go when you're 'visiting friends'." Serena told her firmly, one eyebrow quirked as she stared the younger woman down. When Emily opened her mouth to, Serena guessed, argue or avoid the conversation, she shook her head. "No, no, no. You're not getting out of it this time."

"You heard my Mum… she said I'm not allowed to tell you…"

Pushing Emily into a chair at the kitchen table and settling herself opposite her, Serena shook her head. "I also heard you say that you'd tell me anyway."

"You'd never believe me if I told you."

"Try me." The older woman challenged, leaning forward eagerly.

"I feel like I'm in an interview…"

Serena arched an eyebrow. "Had many of those, have you?"

"Thanks, babe."

"Oh, I didn't mean that. I'm sorry." Sighing at the offended expression that was being directed at her, Serena shook her head. "I'm just… Can't you just… Can't you just tell me?"

"It's…" Emily trailed off, chewing her lip and trying to work out how to formulate an explanation that wouldn't send Serena running for the hills…or make her drag the younger woman into the hospital to get her a psychological consult. "It's a bit… Right… you need to…"

"Just spit it out, will you?"

From the expression on her face, Emily guessed that Serena was losing patience. She rubbed the back of her neck nervously, before running both hands through her hair. Peeking up at her girlfriend through her fringe, the young woman attempted to shoot Serena her most innocent look. When the surgeon simply stared her out, Emily knew she was going to have to start talking.

"OK so… you might want a drink before I get started."

"Oh…" Serena glanced at her watch and seemed to be debating whether twenty past one was too early for alcohol. Apparently making her mind up, she grabbed a bottle of Shiraz off the counter and poured herself a generous glass. "Do you…?"

Emily shook her head, chewing her lip. "No thanks. I think if I start and then try and explain this, I might not be able to do it properly."

"Is it… is there… is there someone else?"

"No." She shook her head vigorously. Then she paused. "Well… not really? I suppose there is technically, in a manner of speaking… but…"

"Not really? Not… not really? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Serena's voice shook, uncertainty creeping into her eyes, quickly replaced by irritation. Emily took a sharp breath and that seemed to push her girlfriend into blurting out what was crossing her mind. "Well… obviously I … you're so young and I'm… of course there would be someone else and I… I never thought… I've had fun, obviously, but now you…"

With a frown, the younger woman looked at her in complete confusion. "What the hell are you going on about?"

"You… you said that there was someone else?" Serena frowned too. At the bemusement on Emily's face, the uncertainty and irritation the older woman felt turned to full-blown anger. "What do you mean, what the hell am _I_ going on about?" She stood up. "How dare you… when it's you who's been… with someone else?"

"Huh?" Emily blinked. "I've been what?"

"Cheating on me!" Her girlfriend exploded.

"No, no!" Emily shook her head vehemently. "I haven't. I promise you, Rena, I haven't cheated on you."

"But you just said–"

"No!" Grasping her girlfriend's hands, the twenty-year-old shook her head vehemently.

"I don't understand, then." Serena admitted, jerking her shoulders in a sharp shrug.

Waiting as she took a seat at the kitchen table, Emily started pacing around the room, trying to put her thoughts in order. Serena watched her silently, troubled by the obvious difficulty her girlfriend was having.

"I need to call my mum."

"What?"

Emily sighed, rubbing her forehead agitatedly. "You are never going to believe me. You'll think I'm crazy. If Mum's here–"

Blinking in disbelief, Serena held up her hands. "I don't know what's going on. I want to understand, Emily, I really do, but at the moment you're making even less sense than normal." Seeing that her words had, if anything, just made her girlfriend even more anxious, the older woman paused. Running one hand through her hair, she reached out and touched Emily lightly on her upper arm. "Sweetheart… talk to me."

The younger woman took a deep breath and then nodded. Grasping Serena by the hand, she settled herself in one of the chairs at the kitchen table. When Emily didn't immediately start speaking, Serena shifted uncomfortably in her seat. There was clearly some kind of internal battle raging in her girlfriend's head and Serena was unsure what to stay to drag her back to the present.

"Em… you're worrying me."

"There's this man… well… he's more than a man. His name is the Doctor."

Serena furrowed her eyebrows. "The Doctor you mentioned when Kate had her accident?"

"Mmm…" Emily nodded in agreement.

"What do you mean he's more than a man?"

"Oh, god… this is hard."

"I'd noticed." Serena retorted dryly.

"If I tell you can you promise not to say anything until I've finished?" Emily asked. Serena didn't look completely sure, but she nodded anyway and the younger woman knew that she would at least try to comply with her request. "The Doctor is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. He's not exactly human… technically he's an alien." Seeing the expression of complete disbelief crossing her girlfriend's features, Emily shook her head. "Hear me out, OK? I'm not crazy. He's a Time Lord and he travels in a ship called the TARDIS; Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. It's disguised as a police box which, if you ask me, isn't the best disguise but apparently he broke the chameleon circuit, so–"

"Emily!"

"Sorry… sorry…" She shook her head. "Mum and Osgood work for a Government agency called UNIT that deals with extra-terrestrial threats. Unified Intelligence Taskforce. I say Mum works for them… she's the Head. Osgood is Head Scientific Advisor. Mum's predecessor was my grandfather, the Brigadier. I've always wanted to join UNIT, but so far Mum's put her foot down. She wasn't at all happy when she found out that I'd been travelling with him in the TARDIS."

"Travelling? Where?" Serena had gone very pale while the younger woman had been talking. She was clutching the stem of her wine glass tightly. "How have I never heard of UNIT? Hang on… did you say alien?"

"They're very much on a need-to-know basis. For a long time Gordy and I had no real idea about it. We've known about the Doctor forever, Gramps used to tell us stories about him when we were kids, but I guess we didn't really consider it was a proper _thing_ until we got a bit older."

"And the travelling… with this Doctor?"

A smile twisted Emily's lips without her realising. "Everywhere… everywhere you can imagine and then more places you can't. I've seen different planets… galaxies… species and so many things I can't even begin to describe."

"What…?"

Standing up, Emily left the room quickly. Serena followed, taking a long gulp of her wine as she made her way into the living room at a much slower pace. Watching the younger woman hunting for something in her bag, Serena dropped onto the sofa and eyed her warily.

Finally Emily straightened up and turned with something in her hands. It was a medium-sized, flattish, square, deep blue box; the corners decorated with swirling patterns in golf-leaf. Kneeling in front of her girlfriend, Emily held the box out nervously, chewing her lip as she looked into Serena's eyes. With shaking hands, the older woman took the box and looked at it curiously.

"I bought this for you in a market on a planet called Cognatius." Emily informed her softly.

"This is… this is from another planet?" Serena asked with wide-eyes, looking up from the still-closed box.

Emily nodded. "Mmm-hmm… wherever I am – on this planet or any other – I'm always thinking about you, love."

Gingerly, as though terrified about what she might find inside, Serena opened the box. She inhaled sharply, her breath catching in her throat, as her eyes fell on the item nestled carefully inside its case. Reaching out, she touched the necklace with the tip of her index finger, as though worried that she would damage it.

"It's… it's beautiful…" She whispered, tearing her gaze away from her gift to meet Emily's eyes. "I… thank you."

Emily smiled broadly. "You like it?"

"I love it."

"Good." Reaching out to lift the long silver chain out of the box in order to fix it around her girlfriend's neck, Emily found her hand blocked and looked up to see Serena shaking her head. "What's wrong?"

"I… let me just look at it for a moment…"

Smiling, the young woman rocked back on her heels and simply watched her girlfriend staring down at the necklace in wonder. She watched Serena's eyes widening as the colours within the jewels fixed in the interlocking silver circles of the necklace swirled and coiled within their casing.

"This is… it's from another planet?" Serena repeated her earlier question quietly, glancing up and searching Emily's eyes, as though looking for a hint that she was lying. "Is it safe?"

Emily nodded quickly. "I promise."

Sensing that Serena was slightly more relaxed now, she reached out and gently lifted the necklace out of the box. Reaching forward, she fixed the clasp carefully and ran her fingers around Serena's neck along the delicate silver chain. The pendant rested comfortably in the centre of her chest and Emily looked at it for a moment, before raising her gaze to meet Serena's eyes.

"I have more presents for you." She informed the older woman shyly. "I bought them wherever we went but I… I didn't think…"

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because it's mad…" Emily laughed softly. "Other worlds? Aliens? Spaceships? I didn't think you'd take it so well…"

"It's a lot to get my head around, I'll give you that…" Serena agreed. Then she turned to her girlfriend with a determined look on her face. "I want to meet this man… to see that police box. I think you owe me that, at least."

Emily gulped, wondering how the Doctor would react to that request.


	25. Sometimes You Need Your Mum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A guest over on FF.net left this review on one chapter,
> 
> 'I was just wondering if you were going to expand on something Kate said about Emily? She said in one of the earlier chapters that she sometimes struggled with what in her head. I can completely understand this as I do to and was wondering if you could Mabey do something like that with Kate, be it with Emily or Osgood?'
> 
> so this chapter was written with that in mind!
> 
> :)

It had already been an incredibly long day and Kate was incredibly frustrated to see that it was only a little after two o'clock in the afternoon. She felt as though she'd been staring at the computer screen for at least three days, although it couldn't have been more than an hour.

The Head of UNIT had spent the morning down at the site of an unidentified possible artefact beside the River Thames. It had turned out to be less of a threat than they'd anticipated, but the resulting paperwork had been a nightmare. Kate sighed deeply as she re-read the same sentence for the fifth time, wishing she could take a break but knowing that she shouldn't. Osgood was still at the location so she didn't even have her girlfriend to keep her company or distract her.

Closing her eyes and inhaling sharply as her phone began to ring, vibrating against the surface of her desk, Kate snatched it up and jammed it between her shoulder and her ear without checking the name on the display. She had been expecting a call from the Prime Minister about the latest budget report and guessed it would be him phoning. That was one conversation she really didn't want to be having.

"Kate Stewart."

"Mumma?"

Furrowing her eyebrows, the woman leant back in her chair, completely forgetting about the form on her computer screen. She knew instantly that something was wrong. "What's happened?"

"Have you got time for a coffee?"

"Not really, sweetheart." The older Stewart admitted with a sigh. "I've got about six reports to complete and sign off on by the end of the day and I'm expecting a call from the Prime Minister. I can't really leave at the moment."

"Oh… OK. I guess I'll just see you tonight, then."

"I thought you were having dinner with Serena and her daughter?"

"Serena's got to work late and Elinor... well, she hates me."

"Oh, darling, I'm sure she doesn't hate you." Kate reasoned, sighing deeply. "It just must be a lot to get her head around; her mother suddenly having a girlfriend who's younger than she is. I'm sure it's not personal."

"It felt bloody personal when she called me a cheap little gold-digging whore." Emily muttered bitterly.

"She said what?" Her mother demanded, outraged. Sitting up straight in her chair, Kate was suddenly completely alert; her full attention focused on what her daughter was saying. "When? What did Serena say?"

"I haven't told her. I phoned Elinor to let her know that Serena wouldn't be able to make dinner but said that we could still go. She said she'd rather starve than spend time with a cheap little gold-digging whore like me and that she was going to make sure her mother came to her senses and realised that I'm not good enough for her."

Kate stood up angrily. "That's outrageous! You have to tell Serena."

"I can't." Emily replied quietly. "Serena adores Elinor…"

"I adore _you_ and yet if you'd said something like that about Osgood–"

"She's got a point though, hasn't she? I'm _not_ good enough for Serena. She's this mind-blowingly amazing woman. She's a surgeon, she basically runs that place... she was deputy CEO. I can't even get a sodding waitressing job."

"Another rejection?" Kate asked with a wince. "Where are you?"

"The coffee shop by the Tower."

Switching off the screen of her computer, Kate gathered up her things. "I'll be right there."

She ignored her assistant's questions about where she was going and whether she'd finished the report he needed to send over to the Home Secretary, striding hurriedly towards the main entrance out of the Tower that would take her onto the street where Emily was waiting. Nodding and smiling weakly at a young man who held the door open for her, she slipped inside looking around for her daughter.

Emily was sitting in an oversized armchair in the far corner of the café. She was curled up with her feet tucked underneath her and her arms hugging her legs tightly to her chest. Kate watched her for a moment, completely unnoticed, as her daughter gazed blankly out of the window. Emily could easily have been a fourteen-year-old again, having had her heart broken for the first time and relying on her mum to make things better and tell her everything would be OK. She didn't notice as Kate made her way over to the table and settled herself on the sofa on the opposite side of the table, reaching for one of the two untouched mugs of coffee on the surface between them.

"What do you want to talk about first?" She asked softly. When Emily jumped at the intrusion to her thoughts, Kate reached out and squeezed her knee. "Thanks for the coffee."

"Sixth one in two weeks…"

Knowing that her daughter wasn't talking about coffee, Kate sighed. "Sweetheart, it's not–"

"Sixth in ten days, actually."

"Emily, you're not the only person in London struggling to get a job, you know?" Her mother assured her. "It's hard, but you need to keep trying."

"I can't even get a job as a waitress… Elinor's right. Serena's a Consultant Surgeon! What does she even see in me? I'm useless! What's the point? Maybe I should just break up with her now, before–"

"Em, stop it." Kate ordered her firmly. "Serena isn't as shallow as you're making out; give her _some_ credit. She understands that you're trying."

"Yeah? She didn't sound very understanding when I told her." The brunette toyed with the serviette on the table in front of her. "She just did that long, exasperated sigh and said 'brilliant' before telling me she had to work late."

"I'm sure she was just in a hurry, sweetheart." Kate soothed, knowing that her daughter would have built the situation up in her head to be something more than it was. "Come on, Em, you can't do this again… you can't sabotage this one."

"Why not?"

"Because you _love_ her, darling."

"So what? I loved Ariel."

Kate laughed softly. "Ariel was a cat."

"I still loved her and she still went away."

Her mother's face hardened. "That was nothing to do with you, my love. Your father is a vindictive bastard, who–"

"But what's the point?" Emily asked, cutting Kate off. "I'm never going to be enough for Serena, am I? That Robbie guy's been sniffing around again. Maybe I should just let her-"

"Has Serena even indicated that she might be _remotely_ interested in him?"

"No... but she's been weird with me ever since I told her about UNIT and the Doctor…"

"It sounds to me as though she's thinking that _she_ might not be enough for _you_."

The brunette turned to look at her mother properly for the first time since she'd sat down. Confusion and uncertainty were written all over her face. "What? Why would…?"

"Think about it for a moment; you told her that there are countless different worlds out there and you go off exploring them with an alien in a police box. You've seen things that she's never dreamt of and could never even begin to imagine. You've got all that at your feet." Kate reasoned as gently as she could. "The only jobs you've applied for are temporary or agency – nothing that would keep you here if a better offer came along – and you don't even seem to be seriously trying to secure one of those. You're less than half her age. You have no responsibilities and no commitments. You could wake up one day and decide that you want to leave and that would be it. The whole universe is out there for you to explore."

"But I don't want the whole universe. I want Serena."

"Then you need to stop all this, tell Serena that and sort it out."

"Mum, I–"

"Emily." Kate reached over and placed her hand on her daughter's knee. "You don't have to think about anyone else, apart from you and Serena; not me, not Gordy, not Osgood… we're all fine. You don't have to worry about us anymore. You _especially_ don't have to think about Elinor." She frowned darkly. "I am, however, going to be speaking to Serena about her."

"Mum, don't–"

"No, Emily. I won't have her speaking to you like that. She needs to learn some manners and I have a feeling that Serena needs to know what her daughter is really like."

"I'm–"

"Sweetheart, I'm under absolutely _no_ illusions about what you're like." Kate informed her bluntly. "Now, come over here and give me a hug."


	26. Professional Party Crashers

"Are you sure I look OK?" Emily asked her girlfriend for about the twentieth time. She looked at her reflection in the mirror critically, tilting her head to the side as she appraised herself thoroughly. "I don't want to show you up in front of your friends."

Serena paused on her way to the bathroom and adjusted her earring quickly, before changing direction and moving to stand behind Emily. She slid her arms around the younger woman's waist and rested her chin on her shoulder.

"You're beautiful."

After speaking to her mother about her fears that she wasn't enough for Serena, Emily had taken Kate's advice and actually voiced her feelings to her girlfriend. Serena had been shocked to hear what her daughter had said and made it her mission to ensure that Emily was under no illusions about how she felt about her. In return, the younger woman had made sure that Serena understood that she would choose her over travelling with the Doctor any day.

"But… are you sure I shouldn't be more dressed up?"

Serena slowly ran her eyes over her girlfriend's outfit, taking in the jeans that were so tight they looked as though they'd been spray painted on. Instantly her eyes darkened as she caught sight of black lace peeping out from beneath Emily's royal blue shirt and the necklace that disappeared into her cleavage.

"Nope, you look perfect." Serena managed finally.

Smirking, the younger woman turned in her arms, pressing a long, languid kiss to her lips. "Back atcha, baby."

Serena rolled her eyes, plucking at the crimson dress that hugged her figure beautifully and showed off her legs. "You sure it's not too… young?"

"No way." Emily shook her head. "You look ridiculously hot."

"We're only going to Albie's… its not too much?"

"Serena, you are not taking that dress off." The younger woman smirked. "That's my job later."

"I don't know if I'll be able to get those jeans off." Serena mused distractedly, watching Emily bend over to do up the buckles on her high heels.

"I'm sure you'll find a way."

* * *

 

Emily smiled as Serena returned to her side, taking a sip from her glass of wine and wrapping a proprietorial arm around her waist. Turning her head, the younger woman pressed a lingering kiss to the corner of her mouth in silent thanks for returning to her side, before shooting Serena a cheeky wink.

"So, Emily, it's nice to finally meet you properly." Fletch said, grinning at her. He took a sip of his pint before shooting Serena a mischievous look. "We've heard a lot about you."

"Have you?" Emily asked in surprise. "Rena?"

"Nah, I'm just messing with you." Fletch assured her with a chuckle. "She's never actually mentioned you before."

The young brunette turned to look at her girlfriend with a mock-serious glare. "Oh, really?"

Sensing that he might just have put his foot in it, he looked between them warily. "Uhh…"

Emily chuckled. " _I'm_ just messing with _you_." When he visibly relaxed, she shrugged. "What's she like at work, then? Is she all scary and bossy? Does she march around giving orders?"

"Hush, you." Serena laughed softly, squeezing her hip gently. "I'm a delight to work for, right Fletch?"

"Right." He agreed with a nod.

"Shame…"

Sending her girlfriend a sideways look, unable to stop her lips twitching into a smirk, Serena motioned towards the bar. Both Fletch and Emily nodded and the older woman headed off to buy the next round of drinks. They chatted companionably for a while, before an older, taller man joined them.

"Ah, Mr Hanssen, have you met Emily Stewart, Serena's girlfriend?" Fletch introduced her.

Hanssen held out his hand in her direction. "Ah, Ms Stewart, a pleasure to meet you. I've heard wonderful things."

"You too…" Emily was on the brink of calling him 'Sir' before she stopped herself. "You're Rena's boss, right?"

"I am CEO of the hospital, yes." He agreed. "And what is it that you do?"

"Errr…"

"AHHH! Stewart, there you are!" A very familiar, very out-of-place voice boomed across the room causing everyone to stop and turn to look at the man who had just strode into the room. "What are you wearing? You look ridiculous. Those shoes are highly impractical."

Emily's mouth dropped open. "What…?"

"Well I had to come and meet the woman who tamed you. The one who caused you give up exploring the universe." The Doctor announced with a shrug, peering around at the faces staring at him with expressions of complete bewilderment. "Where is she hiding, then?"

"Doctor! I'm so sorry, love!" Kate gasped, appearing in the doorway and shaking her head at her daughter. "He got away from me. Os? I've found him."

"Who's this fella then?" Fletch asked, turning to look at the wide-eyed young woman beside him. "Your dad, is it?"

Despite her shock, Emily snorted with amusement at the look of complete disgust that had twisted the Doctor's expression. "No."

"Her dad?" The Doctor demanded. "Are you mad? Look at her… she's so… impractical!"

Emily grinned. "He's my granddad. Had an accident and it affected his brain. He says some pretty weird things now, don't you, Gramps?"

"Come on, Doctor." Kate urged, grasping his arm and attempting to pull him out of the room as he made a strangled sound at the young woman's words. She glanced at Osgood who had appeared in the doorway, taking a puff of her inhaler as she shook her head at her girlfriend. "We'll catch up with Em and Serena later, alright?"

"Why are you hiding her? What is it? Does she have two heads or something? She's not an Aplan, is she? Could get quite messy if she is; they can get quite jealous. Ooh? Or is she an–"

"Shut up, Doctor!" Kate snapped. "Let's go!"

Huffing and throwing his hands up in the air, muttering something about trying to help, the Doctor strode back the way he'd come and left the room. Osgood shot Emily an apologetic look before hurrying out after him.

"Sorry, love." Kate told her daughter in a quiet voice. "Where is Serena, by the way?"

"Gone to get some drinks." Emily replied, motioning over her shoulder. "She's gonna kill me for this… embarrassing her in front of her colleagues. It wasn't even my fault!"

"Bring Serena outside and we'll explain." The blonde sighed. "Besides, she wanted to meet the Doctor, didn't she?"

"Yeah… I'm not actually sure him crashing her Work Christmas Party was what she had in mind."

"He's parked the TARDIS in the alleyway round the corner. You might want to hurry or he'll probably attempt to come and find you." Kate advised her daughter, glancing at her watch.

Nodding and watching as the blonde strode out of the pub to join her girlfriend and the Time Lord, Emily sighed. Turning, she saw Serena watching her curiously from near the bar and smiled, heading back towards her. She accepted the drink, pressing another kiss to her girlfriend's cheek in thanks, before taking a large sip of wine.

"What was that about?"

"Drink up and then I'll explain."

"We're leaving, then?"

"Not… just for a while so I can tell you what's going on." Emily assured her. "We can come back after, if you want."

Serena nodded slowly, sipping at her wine. They were engaged in conversation with Morven and Raf, who wanted to know all about Emily. Serena rolled her eyes as they made out she'd been keeping her girlfriend a complete mystery and wanting to know what was wrong with her. Emily laughed, knowing that they were just messing around.

Finally, Emily moved to stand in front of Serena, no more than a hair's breadth between them, taking both her hands in her own. She tangled their fingers together, smiling at her girlfriend for a moment before she spoke. Serena looked at her in bemusement, distracted by their proximity.

"I've got something to show you." Emily said quietly. When Serena arched an eyebrow and smirked, she laughed. "Yes, that too. But first I need you to come outside with me."

Still clearly very confused about what was happening, the older woman allowed herself to be pulled out of Albie's by the hand. Emily grabbed their jackets off the coat stand by the door as they passed, helping her girlfriend into hers, before ushering her through the door.

"So, you know you said you wanted to meet the Doctor?" Emily said slowly, tugging on their joined hands and leading her girlfriend round the corner. "He came looking for you."

"Me?"

"Mmm… he wanted to see the woman who tamed me." The younger woman chuckled.

"Tamed you? Heaven forbid!"

Laughing, Emily indicated towards the TARDIS. "There it is… the TARDIS."

Serena hesitated, holding back slightly as she stared at the unobtrusive police box. Realising that the older woman was resisting her attempts to pull her towards the box, Emily turned to look at her. Serena was chewing her lip, her eyes wide as she stared.

"Babe, it's OK." Emily urged her gently. "Just… it's much bigger on the inside, remember? And the Doctor's a bit… he has no social skills. He doesn't mean to be rude… or maybe he does… but don't take anything he says personally." Leaning in, Emily kissed her softly. "I'll look after you."

Instead of replying, Serena just nodded and followed Emily towards the TARDIS. The younger woman raised her knuckles and rapped sharply on the wood, waiting for someone to let them in. They didn't have long to wait as the Doctor himself yanked open the door and peered out at them imperiously.

"S'up?" Emily asked, pushing him backwards with her free hand and pulling Serena inside with her. "You wanted to meet Serena? You better be nice, Doctor, or else."

"I'm always nice."

"Really? What about that incident on the planet with the glowing cow-things? You nearly got us accused of being witches. Or when we went to Salem and we were _actually_ accused of being witches and nearly burnt at the stake? That was down to you being _nice_."

"That was mostly your fault." The Doctor told her with a shrug. "They _really_ didn't like your hair. Can you blame them, though? I mean, blue? Who has _blue_ hair?"

"I think it was you using the sonic screwdriver on everything in sight and telling them that in the future there were going to be 'moving pictures' about them that they mainly objected to." From beside her girlfriend, Serena cleared her throat, drawing their attention back to the present. "Sorry, babe."

"Serena Campbell, I assume." He asked, looking past Emily to her girlfriend. He extended his hand, which the older woman shook reluctantly. "A pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise… I think."

Serena seemed to be doing her best to get herself under control, her eyes comically wide as she looked past the Doctor to survey the console room. She started slightly as her eyes landed on Kate and Osgood on the far side of the room, leaning against the railings and chatting casually as though they were simply in their living room or somewhere equally mundane.

"I was thinking we'd start off with a trip to the Spa on Retrexis and then I'd take you to Barcelona… the planet, not the city."

"Doctor, no." Emily shook her head. "We've got things to do. Serena's got an incredibly important job and then there's Jason, who–"

"Time machine, remember?" He knocked on her forehead, rolling his eyes. "I can bring you back last Tuesday if you want. I wouldn't advise it though… tricky business messing with timelines."

"Doctor, no." The brunette repeated.

"Doctor… yes!" He exclaimed, leaping across the console room and jamming down the landing lever.

Serena shot Emily a terrified look as the TARDIS lurched dangerously to one side. The younger woman made a grab for her, sandwiching her between the railing and her body so that Serena was unlikely to hurt herself.

"Doctor!" Kate shouted, irritated by his decision to, effectively, kidnap them. "Where are you taking us now?"

"Oh lighten up." The Doctor commanded, rolling his eyes as he caught sight of her scowl. "It'll be fun!"

"I hate you so much."


	27. Have You Ever Been to the Opulence Spa?

"Serena!" Emily shouted, holding out a hand in the older woman's direction. "Come back."

"Oh, lighten up, darling!" Serena ordered her girlfriend, waving a hand in her direction and accompanying it with an eye roll. "This is marvellous!"

"Someone's clearly having a lovely time." Kate muttered, sidling up to her daughter and pushing her hands into the pockets of her suit trousers.

"Mmm… I'm not quite sure how I feel about this?" Emily made the statement sound more like a question as she regarded her girlfriend warily.

Serena was floating serenely on what appeared, on first glance, to be some sort of cloud. On closer inspection, however, it was actually made of millions of tiny nano-particles that were constantly moving and shifting in order to support Serena's weight, giving her a relaxing, full body massage as they did so. The bright smile on the brunette's face tugged Emily's own lips into a reluctant grin as she watched the scene ahead of her.

The Doctor had been as good as his word and taken them to the Opulence Spa on Retrexis in the Medusa Cascade. It was a sprawling mass of glass buildings and outdoor, naturally heated pools. The temperatures were regulated by a strange, sentient plant species that injected cooling steam into the shimmering, pearlescent water at regular intervals.

They had all, reluctantly, enjoyed their day and the Doctor seemed to be on his best behaviour. Whether that had anything to do with the fact that Emily had almost begged him not to mess up her relationship, she wasn't sure, but whatever was causing the Time Lord to treat Serena with the amount of respect he was, the young woman was extremely grateful to it.

"I hate to break the moment…" Osgood murmured, dragging both Stewarts from their daydreams.

"I thought you were trying that… allergy relieving procedure?" Kate asked, frowning at her girlfriend's sudden appearance. Emily furrowed her eyebrows at the slight hesitation and strange expression that crossed her mother's face as she spoke.

"I thought _you_ were going to come and find me."

Kate rubbed the back of her neck, wincing at the accusatory tone the brunette directed at her. "Sorry, love. I got distracted."

" _Anyway_ , as I was saying," Osgood arched an eyebrow at her, "there's a big cloud thing and I don't think it can mean anything good."

They followed her gaze to a dust cloud rising into the air, racing towards them at an eye watering pace. All three women had spent enough time with the Doctor and in different situations to know that it couldn't possibly be a good sign, whatever was heading for them. At once they leapt into action. Osgood pulled out a scanner, no one was quite sure where from, aiming it at the oncoming threat, while Kate and Emily hurried off to attract the attention of the other two members of their party.

"Ummm… Rena, babe…" Emily called, wincing at the pool of translucent liquid that her girlfriend was floating above. "I need you to come over here."

"Nooo!" Serena shook her head. "I'm having a wonderful time. Why didn't you bring me here before."

"Because I didn't know this place existed and I thought you'd chuck me for being mental." The younger woman retorted. Then she held out a hand. "Please, Serena. It's important."

With a loud, theatrical huff, the older woman wiggled her hips and directed the nano-cloud towards the edge of the pool. Making beckoning motions with her hands, Emily willed her girlfriend to hurry up, but Serena was clearly in no hurry to end her treatment. She wasn't getting the mental warnings the young woman was sending her to hurry up, perfectly happy to drift lazily towards the water's edge.

"Stewart little!" The Doctor sprinted towards them, skidding to a halt beside them. "Hurry your friend along, we need to leave. Now."

"Friend?" Emily arched an eyebrow at him, all but yanking Serena off the nano-cloud as soon as she was within reaching distance. "You know very well she's not my _friend_ , Eyebrows."

"This isn't really the time." The Doctor said, frowning at her as he chivvied Osgood and Kate towards the TARDIS. "Why must you always turn everything into an argument… a discussion?"

Emily gaped at him, dragging Serena along behind her by the hand. "You literally just started it!"

Slamming the doors shut behind them, the Doctor leant against them for a moment, before pushing away and whirling towards the console. He slammed a few levers down and pressed a couple of buttons, before turning to look at the four pairs of accusing eyes that were directed at him. Widening his eyes and holding up his hands in a move that screamed, 'what? I'm totally innocent here', the Doctor faced them reluctantly.

"What did you do, Doctor?" Kate demanded, folding her arms and narrowing her eyes at him.

"I didn't do anything."

"Really?" Emily glared at him. "So whatever that was out there, which you seemed aware of before us, had nothing whatsoever to do with you?"

He rolled his eyes. "I might have made a few changes to the central databases by realigning the corporeal modulation parameters into a more circumcentric formulation… which then triggered a forced upgrade to the host operating systems in the maintenance mainframe… which in turn caused the micro-bacteria that ensure a stasis in the atmosphere to decide to attack and cleanse anything they didn't recognise as sterile."

There was a long silence following his announcement as the two women who completely understood what he had said, the one who had a vague idea of what he meant and the one who had picked up on a few familiar words stared at the Time Lord with open mouths. He had promised them a calm, no trouble and no fuss trip before he took them home again. Kate, Osgood and Emily knew him too well to think he would manage to keep his promise, but they had expected him to at least try not to go out of his way to cause trouble.

"I don't know what that means, but it doesn't sound good." Serena was the first one to break the awkward silence. She tilted her head to one side and narrowed her eyes. "Did that last bit mean that something was trying to kill us?"

"Sort of." The Doctor agreed. "But just a little bit."

"Right, well… Good job you had the TARDIS on hand, then." She nodded. Turning her back on the Doctor, Serena looked imploringly at Emily. "I think I need a lie down. Where's your room, darling?"

The younger woman didn't complain in the slightest when her girlfriend grabbed her hand and dragged her in an unspecified direction. Glancing over her shoulder, Emily shrugged at her mother, before leading the way through the labyrinthine corridors of the TARDIS to the room that had been set aside as hers on her many trips on board the Time Lord's police box.

"I don't care what you think these shoes are doing for my legs," the trio left in the console room heard the Consultant Surgeon saying as they headed away, "I need to find something else to wear because my feet are killing me."

The Doctor grinned, pointing in the direction they had just disappeared off in. "I like her."


	28. Champion Button Pusher

Emily was actually incredibly proud of herself for the amount of restraint she was showing in any situation where she was forced to spend time with Serena's daughter. Since Kate had, painfully bluntly, told the brunette some home truths about her daughter, Serena had reluctantly been seeing that her girlfriend's mother was right about what she'd said.

Christmas had come and gone with Elinor complaining bitterly when she was forced to spend the day with her mother, Jason and Emily's family. The young woman had been given the option of going to her father's, but she had apparently decided that the Stewarts were the lesser of two evils and flounced through the door of Kate's house on Christmas morning without saying a single word to her.

On New Year's Day Serena, Jason and Elinor were spending the day with the Stewarts once more. After lunch, Emily excused herself to go and pack some of her things to take back to her girlfriend's house. She pointedly ignored the huff of irritation that was directed at her as she bent down to press a quick kiss to the corner of Serena's mouth. Completely ignoring the scowl that Elinor was sending in her direction, Emily headed out of the room and up the stairs.

With Jason and Gordy engrossed in the racing game they were playing on the television and Kate and Osgood politely pretending that they hadn't noticed anything, Serena stood up and nodded her head towards the kitchen. She strode through the door, waiting for her daughter to follow her inside, before closing it firmly behind them.

"This behaviour has got to stop, Elinor!" Serena ordered, placing her coffee on the kitchen table and folding her arms. "If nothing else, Kate and Osgood are my friends and it is _mortifying_ to sit there and watch you rolling your eyes and making comments that are totally uncalled for."

"I have nothing against Kate and Osgood, Mum." The younger woman replied with a shrug as Serena rolled her eyes and picked up her mug once more. "It's _her_ that I have a problem with."

"And why is that, exactly?"

"She's a hobosexual, Mum!" Elinor exclaimed. "Why can't you see that?"

Serena almost choked on her coffee at her words. "She's a _what_?"

"She's with you because if she wasn't she'd have nowhere to live! Her mother clearly doesn't want her around anymore."

"Rubbish!" Her mother scoffed. "Em doesn't even live with me, anyway. How many times do I have to tell you to get over it? I love you, Ellie, but I love Emily, too. You are _not_ going to turn me against her."

"She's just using you, Mum!" The younger woman tried again. "Why can't you see that? You're ridiculous! She's young enough to be your daughter! Do you have any idea how laughable your relationship is?"

Serena flinched. "How _dare_ you? I have never, never commented on your choice in partners! I never would. Remember who you're talking to, Elinor."

"No, but you've showered enough judgement on Dad because of the age gap between him and Libby. I can't believe you can't see how desperate you look."

"Why can't _you_ see that this is pointless?" Serena demanded angrily, her eyes sparking. "You _won't_ destroy this for me. I won't let you."

There was a tentative knock on the kitchen door and Osgood poked her head around the frame. "Everything OK?"

"Fine, Os, thank you." Serena assured her with a firm nod.

"Jason was wondering if you were coming back in because it's your turn." The bespectacled brunette asked, slightly warily. "If you're busy he said he'll swap turns with you, if you wanted."

"Oh, I'm done here, don't worry." The older woman told her, shooting a glare at her daughter. "Elinor is going to calm down and find her manners before she comes to join us."

As her mother swept through the door and pulled the door closed with a bang, the younger Campbell folded her arms and stamped her foot childishly. She barely had a chance to replay the conversation once in her mind, before the other door leading from the hallway opened and the very person that she least wanted to set eyes on stepped into the room.

"Elinor…"

"I don't want to listen to anything you have to say."

"Not even for your Mum's sake?" Emily asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "I'm under no illusions that me and you will ever be friends, but can't you at least be civil for her sake? You don't even have to talk to me."

"It's for her sake that I'm trying to make her see the error of her ways." Elinor informed her bluntly.

"Right, and upsetting her and my Mum in the process, yeah?"

"It's worth it if she gets rid of you."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Why can't you just admit that we both love Serena and–"

Elinor advanced on her quickly, scowling at the younger woman. "I will _never_ accept you, you little whore. I will never stop trying to break you up."

"Do your worst." Emily challenged, losing her temper and narrowing her eyes at her girlfriend's daughter. "You can say what you want to Serena, you can try your best to break us up, but I've got something you'll _never_ have."

"And what's that?"

"You can call me all the names under the sun," Emily drew back so that she could look Elinor in the face properly, "but the little noises Serena makes… the things she can do with her tongue… when she screams my name…" she smirked, " _that_ is something I'm not going to give up in a hurry."

"Bitch…"

Before Emily knew what was happening, Elinor had pulled back her arm and slammed her fist into the other woman's face. Emily couldn't deny that she was slightly impressed having expected that, if she ever did, the other woman would have slapped her with as much effect as a gnat. Instead, though, she found herself stumbling back against the 'fridge in surprise.

"What the hell–?"

Both women looked sharply towards the source of the sound, finding their mothers, Osgood, Jason and Gordy staring at them in shock. Elinor looked defiantly at them, folding her arms across her chest, while Emily straightened, putting her hand to her face to assess the damage. She winced at the warm, sticky sensation of blood on her fingers as she touched her nose.

"I'm fine." Emily assured her mother, holding up a hand in Kate's direction as she lurched forward. "It's fine."

"It is most certainly _not_ fine." Serena growled out, her eyes flashing with fury as she surveyed her daughter's petulant expression. "Apologise."

"No."

"Apologise now!"

"No!"

"Serena, really, it's fine." Emily told her. "I provoked her."

Her girlfriend shook her head. "I don't care. Elinor, apologise."

"I hate you." Elinor spat out, looking directly at the younger Stewart. "I hate you so much. You've ruined everything."

Serena stepped forward and for a moment Emily thought she was going to hug her daughter. Then, with as much of a surprise element as her daughter, she slapped Elinor across the face. The younger woman gasped, raising a hand to her cheek and blinking at her mother.

"I've tried to be understanding." Serena told her, sounding more tired than anything else. "I've tried to give you time to come round because I know this must have been a shock for you. But I'm not going to stand back and watch you attack my girlfriend just because she _dares_ to love me? I thought I'd raised you to be tolerant and open-minded. Obviously I failed and for that I apologise."

"Mum, I just need to make you see–"

"No, Ellie, no!" Her mother shook her head, pulling her hand away from her daughter's outstretched one. "You don't need to make me see anything. You need to see that I'm happy and I'm in love. I've made my choice."

There was a long pause as the disgruntled brunette looked between her mother and Emily, who was still dabbing at her nose with a ball of kitchen roll. Elinor's eyes narrowed and she took a step towards the Emily, evidently not to apologise for punching her.

At once Kate was striding forward, physically putting herself between her daughter and the perceived threat. "Don't even think about it."

Looking the blonde up and down, Elinor snorted derisively. "I wouldn't waste my energy."

"Go home, Elinor." Serena ordered her in a weary tone. "Go home, pack and make sure you're out of my house before we get home."

Elinor blinked. "What? Where am I supposed to go?"

"Your father's? One of your friends'? I'm sure you'll think of somewhere."

"Mum…"

"No, Ellie, not this time."

There was another pause and then Elinor turned on her heels and stalked out of the room. No one moved until they heard the front door slam and then Kate was turning to her daughter, moving the kitchen roll from her nose to assess the damage. Well aware that Serena was going through a crisis over what had just happened, Emily waved the blonde away and told her she was fine.

Getting the hint, Kate ushered her girlfriend, son and Jason out of the room, pulling the door gently closed behind them. Sighing, Serena dampened a tea towel and used it to wipe the blood off Emily's face. Taking the fabric from her hands, the younger woman discarded it on the counter and pulled her girlfriend into a tight hug.

"I really am sorry." She whispered, feeling Serena nuzzling her nose into the crook of her neck. "I was my fault. I pushed her too far."

"She still shouldn't have hit you."

"No." Emily conceded. "But I don't want to be the reason you fall out with your daughter, Rena. You'll end up blaming me and I can't… I don't think I could handle that. It would tear us apart."

"She'll come round." Serena assured her softly. "And if she doesn't… it's her loss."

"But…"

"No buts." The older woman pulled away, placing a hand on either side of Emily's face. She nuzzled their noses together before placing a soft kiss on her mouth. When Emily let out an involuntary hiss of pain, her eyebrows furrowed. "We'll have to get that looked at."

Emily chuckled, rolling her eyes. "It's fine."

"I'll make it up to you, I promise."

With a sigh, the younger woman rested their foreheads together. "There is nothing to make up. Having you… being able to call you my girlfriend… is more than enough, Rena."

From the doorway there was a cough. "Kate's wondering if you're going to come and watch Mary Poppins?"

"Of course we are." Emily told her stepmother with a grin, pulling Serena towards the door by her hand. "Mary Poppins on New Year's Day? It's a Stewart tradition!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My mate introduced me to the term 'hobosexual' when we were discussing a mutual friend. He actually IS one, though, unlike our Em.


	29. Certified Space Lesbian

Emily had to admit that Osgood had gone all out for Kate's birthday dinner party. She had laid the table in the dining room, pulling out the 'good china' as Kate called it and even setting candles and napkin rings out. There was a delicious smell wafting into the living room from the kitchen and Emily's stomach rumbled immediately in response.

Serena laughed. "You wouldn't believe she ate a whole pizza for lunch."

"Happy birthday, Mum." The younger woman said, shooting her girlfriend a mock-glare as she leant forward to press a kiss to Kate's cheek. "It's not much because… well… I'm skint."

"I offered to pay–"

"Yeah, but I said no. Paying half and half is fine for a joint present," Emily cut across her girlfriend quickly, "but I don't want Serena bailing me out. I'll find a job soon, OK?"

As the couple exchanged a look, Kate glanced knowingly at her own girlfriend. Osgood jerked her shoulders in an approximation of a shrug but didn't comment. Emily was the topic of a lot of their conversations recently; her struggle to find any form of employment and the still bitter feud with Serena's daughter the main sub-categories within the subject.

"It smells delicious, anyway." Serena said with a broad smile, breaking the tension. "What are we having, Osgood?"

"That's a surprise!" The brunette grinned, handing her a glass of Shiraz before silently asking whether Emily wanted one as well.

"Os wouldn't even tell me!" Kate laughed, glancing at her girlfriend fondly. "She hasn't given me my present, either. I think she forgot."

"I did not forget." Osgood retorted in mock-offence. "How could I when you were dropping birthday related hints every two minutes?"

She rushed off as the doorbell rang again, appearing a moment or two later with Gordy and Lorna. The young man had only brought his girlfriend over a couple of times prior to that evening and was still slightly wary about leaving her alone with his family. He was slightly more reassured that his sister wouldn't do anything terrible now that she had Serena's steadying influence in her life, but Lorna was shy and Emily was probably still too much for her to handle without a line of defence.

"Are you going to open your present, then?" Emily asked once the second round of greetings had taken place and they were all settled in the living room with pre-dinner drinks.

"I just want to say that although I contributed financially, I had absolutely nothing to do with the choice." Serena announced, her eyes sparkling.

Emily grinned. "Nope, I'm claiming all of the credit."

"Credit?" Serena tilted her head and wrinkled her nose. "Or blame?"

"Shh, you."

Pressing a quick kiss to her lips, Emily turned to watch her mother carefully unwrapping the brightly coloured paper. Kate's eyebrows furrowed as she revealed the dark grey fabric inside. Holding it up, everyone realised that it was a sweatshirt, but only Kate could see the design on the front.

"Of course…" Rolling her eyes, she lowered the jumper and arched an eyebrow at her daughter. "Really?"

Laughing delightedly, Emily slipped off the sofa and plucked the garment from her mother's hands and, with a flourish, revealed the design to everyone else. Gordy snorted with amusement and Serena and Osgood chuckled at the gift that was so in keeping with Emily's attitude to life. Lorna blinked several times, obviously slightly bemused by the situation.

On the front of the sweatshirt was a picture of the earth, a rainbow rocket and another unidentified planet. In the wake of the rocket's journey across the front of the fabric were the words 'certified space lesbian'. Emily cackled delightedly, completely entertained by her own gift and sense of humour.

"It's perfect, right?" She demanded, turning to her mother.

Kate laughed. "I love it."

"Excellent. I'll get Os a matching one for her birthday."

"Way to spoil that surprise, Ems." Her brother teased her, before handing Kate a small gift bag with a tag that denoted it was from him and Lorna. "I'm sorry this isn't as funny as her present."

"Probably cost about four times as much, though." Emily shot back with a grin and only a minimal hint of malice.

"Yeah, probably." Gordy agreed casually.

The young woman retreated to sit on the floor at her girlfriend's feet, leaning against Serena's legs, as Kate pulled a small, neatly wrapped box out of the gift bag. She opened it with just as much care as she'd opened the gift from her daughter, pulling out a dark blue box. Inside the box was a diamond necklace and earring set that had obviously cost a fair amount of money.

Clapping a hand over her mouth, she hugged Gordy and then Lorna tightly, not missing the expression that fleetingly crossed Emily's face as she thanked them. Diplomatic as ever, Kate pulled her sweatshirt over the top of her blouse and fixed the diamond earrings into her ears.

"Good job I haven't got you earrings or a sweatshirt," Osgood mused with a grin, "or what would you have done?"

"Well you haven't so I don't need to think about it." Her girlfriend replied with a chuckle, pulling Osgood close enough to press a kiss to her cheek. "When do I get my present, anyway? Or is it not for general viewing?"

Osgood went scarlet at the implication, both of her stepchildren snorting with laughter as she slapped Kate's shoulder lightly. "No, actually, it's quite the opposite. But I'm going to make you wait until _after_ dinner for that comment."

Refusing to pay any attention to the birthday girl's complaints, Osgood ushered the guests into the dining room and told them to take their seats. She returned a moment later and placed a serving dish of lasagne in the centre of the table. Immediately Kate and her children started to laugh, much to Serena and Lorna's confusion.

"Birthday lasagne!" Gordy exclaimed. "Amazing! Nice one, Os."

"Get in!" Emily cheered triumphantly. "I totally love you, Osgood!"

"It's a birthday tradition." Kate explained as her girlfriend returned with two baskets of garlic bread and a bowl of salad, which she placed at either end of the table. "Ever since the kids were little we'd have birthday lasagne."

"Until the last couple of years." Gordy shrugged. "I'm not sure why, but we just stopped doing it."

"I thought it was an excellent time to revive the tradition." Osgood told them, smiling around. "There's Viennetta for pudding."

"Mint?" Emily questioned.

"Obviously."

"Seriously, Mum, this one is a keeper." Gordy pointed his fork in Osgood's direction, his mouth full of food.

Kate smiled adoringly at her girlfriend. "Mmm… I'd kind of worked that out for myself."

They ate quickly, everyone curious about what Osgood had got for Kate. The meal was delicious and the brunette blushed furiously as compliments were showered on her. She stood to clear the dirty plates away, but Kate laid a hand on her arm and shot a very obvious look at her children, indicating that they should offer instead. Taking the hint, Emily and Gordy rose from the table and carried the plates and bowls into the kitchen. Their playful bickering was audible from the dining room but Kate was loathed to move unless it sounded as though someone was actually going to get hurt.

Before long the pair returned, bringing the promised Viennetta with them. As she dished it out, Emily asked Osgood whether it was time for the present yet. With a sigh the older brunette relented and left the room quickly. On her return, everyone was confused at the lack of anything resembling a present on her person.

Her intention became clear, however, as she sank to the carpeted ground in front of Kate and held out a small, red box in her direction. Kate's eyes widened comically and one hand flew up to cover her mouth as Osgood opened the box and revealed a delicate white gold band with a brilliant solitaire diamond set into it.

"I've been carrying this around with me for months, trying to find the perfect time to give it to you." Osgood said softly. "I knew from the moment I met you that you were the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, but it took a couple of years and a nudge in the right direction to get us here."

Sensing that Emily was about to jump in and spoil the moment with some comment or other, Serena clamped a hand down on her thigh. Catching her eye, she simply shook her head sharply with the hint of a smirk twisting her lips. Instead of responding, Emily turned Serena's hand over and entwined their fingers, before turning her attention back to the couple in front of them.

"Your birthday seemed like the perfect opportunity to ask you this, because we'd be surrounded by the people who matter most to us. I love you so much, Kate." Osgood continued. With a shy smile, she looked up at Kate. "So… what do you say?"

"You haven't actually asked me anything, yet." The blonde pointed out in a small voice, brimming with emotion.

"Oh… oh, yeah, right…" Osgood blushed, before steeling herself and taking a deep breath. "Kate Stewart, love of my life, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

Unable to speak, Kate simply nodded, pulling Osgood towards her and kissing her thoroughly. Gordy broke the silence with a loud whoop, before leaping out of his chair and moving round the table to envelope them both in a tight hug.

"Do you think Os meant to make her proposal rhyme?" Emily asked quietly, smiling more widely than Serena had ever seen her smile before.

"I shouldn't think so." Serena replied with a chuckle. "Go and congratulate them, then!"

While Emily went to join in the group hug, Serena spotted the bottle of champagne on the sideboard and opened it deftly. Filling up the flutes that had been placed on the tray beside the bottle, she carried them over to the table and handed them out. As Gordy glanced at his sister, receiving a nod of encouragement, Serena wrapped her arm around Emily's waist.

"I just want to say…" Gordy started, looking a little embarrassed as everyone turned to look at him. "Well, I just wanted to say congratulations to Mum and Os. I would welcome you to the family, but you're already part of our family and we – me and Em – love you both so much."

"He's right." Emily agreed, raising her glass in their direction. "This time, anyway."

Kate laughed and was about to say something, when a familiar sound met their ears. With a loud groan, the blonde hastily led the way into the living room in time to see the TARDIS materialising in the exact spot that the coffee table had previously occupied.

"Hello, hello!" The Doctor erupted out of the TARDIS. He went straight over to Gordy, shaking his hand heartily and grinning. "You must be Gordon, heard a lot about you."

Gordy's mouth dropped open. "Is that…?"

"What are you doing here, Eyebrows?" Emily asked with a deep sigh. "It's Mum's birthday… we don't need any drama tonight."

"I know it's her birthday! That's why I'm here." He pulled a face at her, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a small, wrapped box. "Happy birthday, Kate Stewart."

"Th– Thank you, Doctor."

When she hesitated, clearly thrown by the gift, he rolled his eyes and leant in conspiratorially. "You're supposed to open it." He said in a loud stage whisper.

She opened the parcel to reveal a large glass cube. Looking at it in confusion for a moment, she glanced at the Time Lord for a clue as to what it was and what it was supposed to do. He sighed dramatically, plucking it from her hands and holding it up for them all to see.

"It's a Guglian Sun Cube." He explained impatiently. "It's decorative. It's nice."

"Yes… thank you, Doctor." Kate replied, genuinely surprised that he had thought to buy her a gift at all. "You didn't need to."

"I know I didn't. I wanted to." He told her, looking around the room curiously. Then he glanced back at her hand, picking it up and peering at the engagement ring. The Doctor's face split into a delighted grin. "You finally did it then, Osgood? Well, well, well… Congratulations!"

"Thank you, Doctor." Osgood beamed at him, wrapping an arm around Kate's waist. "I was terrified she was going to say no."

"Really?" Kate and the Doctor asked at the same time, turning to look at her.

"Why would you think I'd say no?" Kate frowned.

"I don't know… we've just never really… I don't know!"

"It's probably a good job she said yes." The Doctor continued with a nod, flicking the Sonic Screwdriver and looking at the reading he'd just taken. "You might want to tie the knot sooner rather than later, though, while you can still walk down the aisle. Waddling down the aisle doesn't sound as good."

"What?" Osgood blinked rapidly. "What are you talking about, Doctor?"

"You're pregnant." He told her bluntly. "I could smell it. The Sonic Screwdriver just confirmed it."

Everyone's mouths dropped open at his revelation. Slowly all eyes turned to Osgood, who had gone extremely pale and looked as though she might be about to throw up. Kate looked back at the Doctor for a moment, before looking down at her fiancée's stomach.

"How…?"

"Seven weeks."

"No, I meant, how–?"

"I have a very acute sense of smell. I can smell pregnancy a mile off. Two and a quarter, actually, when the wind is coming from the right direction."

"No, Doctor." Kate shook her head at him. "How did this happen?"

He furrowed his eyebrows at her. "You already have two children, Kate? I would have thought you'd understand–"

She held up her hands. "No, Doctor. I understand that part. Well, I don't, actually because I know that Osgood has only slept with me since we got together. Besides, seven weeks ago we were with you, on board the TARDIS. How is this physically possible?"

"Well, if you will book a Retrexan Fertility Massage… They're famous for altering genetics. And the Time Vortex has been known to do some very odd things…"

"Fertility massage?" Emily asked, her mouth dropping open at the Doctor's inadvertent revelation. "Wait… that's what Osgood was having at the Spa? Why didn't you just say?"

"Why didn't I tell my daughter – who already has boundary issues – that my girlfriend was having a fertility massage?" Kate asked, arching one eyebrow and folding her arms. "I wonder…"

"So…" Serena held up her hands, trying to follow the thread of the conversation. "Because Osgood had a fertility massage when we were at that spa, Kate has somehow managed to get her pregnant? That isn't biologically possible."

"I'd guess that they…" He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I mean, I'd assume that the actual… Well, I would theorise that the actual creation took place on board the TARDIS while we were in the Time Vortex." He pulled a face. "That's not allowed, by the way. Next time any of you come travelling with me, there'll be none of those shenanigans."

"Doctor… I don't understand. _How_ did this happen? Serena's right, it's not biologically possible."

"Wait, wait, wait…" Gordy held up his hands. "Are you saying that Osgood has become some kind of self-pollinating plant?"

"Like a sunflower?" Lorna ventured, reminding everyone that she was still there.

"Yes!" The Doctor pointed at her. "Well done, new girl."

"So… she could just spontaneously _spawn_?" Emily asked, pulling a face.

Osgood looked terrified. "Doctor?"

"No, no. There would have to be a stimulus… something Kate did or–"

"Yeah, I think we can all guess what _that_ was." The blonde's daughter smirked.

The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows as though he didn't understand the insinuation, but dismissed it as trivial and continued. "I'd hazard a guess that it was a combination of factors that led to this outcome; the fertility massage, the Time Vortex, perhaps a heightened emotional state. Did you eat or drink anything unusual?"

"Umm…" Osgood thought carefully. "They gave me some tea? It was odd… spicy and sweet at the same time."

He nodded knowingly. "Ooptnguga tea; an incredibly potent aphrodisiac. There's a naturally occurring chemical compound within the Ooptnguga plant that forces isogamy rather than anisogamy within reproduction. It really is a fascinating subject."

"… so their gametes have been reduced to mating-types rather than two examples of the same sex? They've literally just fused their eggs together to form a zygote?"

Everyone turned to look at Gordy's girlfriend in bemusement. She seemed to have more of a grasp on what the Doctor was saying than anyone else. The scientists and surgeon were nodding slowly as he spoke, but Emily and Gordy had gone slightly cross-eyed during his explanation.

"Precisely!" The Doctor nodded. "This one has brains."

"She's a geneticist." Gordy explained quickly. "So… because of this tea and the massage and the Time Vortex…"

"We're getting a baby brother or sister?" Her daughter asked. "Excellent! A miracle baby… we can _totally_ cash in on this."

"We will absolutely do nothing of the sort." Kate informed her bluntly, wrapping her arms around her fiancée and pressing a kiss to her check.

"No, we won't." Osgood agreed, sending her stepdaughter a hard look, one hand resting lightly over Kate's on her stomach.

"I was only kidding." Emily rolled her eyes. "Obviously…"


	30. Work Experience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short one this time. Hope you enjoy it anyway :)

"I have a proposition for you." Emily announced, bounding into her mother's home office and perching on the edge of the desk.

Kate sighed deeply, wondering what her daughter was about to hit her with. Buying herself a couple more moments, the blonde closed the file in front of her and pushed her glasses back up her nose, turning to fix Emily with an appraising stare. The brunette was grinning at her excitedly, as though she thought what she was about to suggest was the best idea she'd ever had. That was, Kate conceded, almost definitely the case knowing her daughter and it was also highly likely that she wouldn't agree.

"Well? What is this proposition?" As her daughter opened her mouth to reply, Kate held up a hand. "If it's illegal and/or life-threatening I don't think I want to hear it. Likewise if it's completely ridiculous or involves you gaining more body art or piercings, don't tell me. If it's that, just do it and show me afterwards."

"Of course it isn't life threatening or illegal. And I already do the other one." Emily rolled her eyes. "I heard you telling Os that your junior archivist has quit and obviously I've been looking for a job for _ages_ , so–"

"Nope." Kate pre-empted her next words and shook her head vehemently. "No way. Not happening. Never in a million years."

"Mum! You said that no one can work with Cleaverly, but I probably could. I know loads about UNIT and the Doctor already and obviously I get on with you and Os so you _know_ I'd be able to work closely with you both on collaborative projects."

"Emily, I've told you before I don't want you working for UNIT. It's too–"

The younger Stewart huffed. "How dangerous can it be working in the archives? Cleaverly is like a hundred and he manages it just fine. The worse I'll be subjected to is a lack of vitamin D and a few paper cuts."

"Emily, you know full well that the archives are full of highly classified, untested and probably highly dangerous artefacts. You've heard Osgood talking about it enough."

"Please, Mum." Her daughter almost begged. "I really, really need a job. If I can put something on my CV and actually have a decent reference at least I might stand a chance of getting anything else if you really don't want me working with you."

Kate sighed. "It's not that I don't want you working with me, darling. Don't start trying to emotionally blackmail me. It's just… why would I knowingly give you a job that could endanger your life?"

"You let Osgood work there."

"That's different. That's… Os isn't my child. It's not a case of letting her or not letting her."

"I'm not a child."

"You're _my_ child." Kate reminded her, smiling as the young woman pouted. "You're my baby and I want to keep you safe."

"Osgood is having your baby. Surely–?"

"Leave it."

"Well can I at least have a trial? I might not even be very good at it. What about if you let me do work experience for a week or two. Maybe I can at least help make a start on that updated filing system Os has wanted to put in place for months. She shouldn't be picking up heavy boxes of files in her condition. I can do that for her instead. It's not like Cleaverly can do it." Emily pleaded, not giving up.

Realising that she would never hear then end of it unless she at least appeared to consider it, Kate sighed and nodded reluctantly. "Fine. Fine! Just two weeks, though, and I'm not paying you. You can help Os and Cleaverly put the new system in place but you are not allowed to even _look_ at anything without clearing it with them first."

"And after a fortnight you'll review it and maybe I can have a proper job?"

"Don't push your luck." Kate told her grumpily.


	31. Double Trouble

Ever since she'd woken up that morning Osgood had been restless, even more so than normal. She couldn't settle at anything for longer than about five minutes, before she was up and roaming around the house aimlessly again. Kate sighed as she watched the younger woman put her book on the coffee table before wandering into the kitchen and out of sight.

It wasn't a surprise to Kate that Osgood was nervous. Later that afternoon they were going to the hospital for the twenty-week scan. She was also worried about the appointment, knowing that anything unusual would show up instantly. Although Kate had been through two pregnancies before, neither woman had any idea what they might be facing this time.

Kate knew that it was better to tackle her fiancé's fears head-on, however, rather than trying to placate her. Walking purposefully into the kitchen, she found the younger woman staring idly out of the window into the garden. Instantly knowing what Osgood's constant twisting of the engagement ring on her finger meant, the blonde sighed and moved to her side, reaching out to hold her hand and forcing her to stop the movement. Starting at the sudden contact, Osgood turned wide eyes on the older woman.

"What's bothering you, Os?"

"What if there's something wrong?"

Kate paused for a moment, not needing to ask what she was referring to. "Do you feel like there's something wrong?"

"No…" Osgood shook her head slowly. "No, it's just…"

"This isn't a normal situation?"

"Exactly. What if there's something… different… about the baby?"

Kate looked at her carefully. "Would that affect how you felt about it?"

"No." Osgood repeated, shaking her head vehemently. "This is our baby and I'll love it whatever, I just…"

"I understand." The blonde smiled tightly, knowing that Osgood was having the same thoughts as she was about their 'miracle' baby.

Since they'd found out, all sorts of doubts about the child had plagued her. She couldn't quite shake the fear that it would have three heads or be bright blue or that there would be something equally alien about it. Emily had been teasing her mother and stepmother constantly – not realising that they were actually worried about it – and even Gordy had joked about them creating the next generation of X-Men.

"What if something shows up on the scan?" Osgood mumbled, her fingers squeezing Kate's without her realising it. "What if…?"

"It'll be OK."

"But, what if it's not? What if–"

"I'm calling the Doctor." Kate announced decisively, pulling out her mobile. "He must have some idea what's likely to happen. It's not fair of him to leave us without any hint as to what might be facing us. This is our child, Osgood. He owes us."

The brunette nodded in agreement, watching as her fiancé dialled the Time Lord's number and held the phone against her ear as she paced around the living room. After a couple of rings, she heard the call being answered, but could barely make out what was being said on the other end of the line. Pressing her finger into her ear she screwed up her face in concentration.

"Doctor? Doctor, it's Kate."

"Kate? What's happened? If it's about your daughter I have no idea how she ended up with that trophy. I turned around for a minute and Emily was gone. OK, maybe it was two minutes. Or maybe ten, I'm not sure. There was this incredible–"

"No, Doctor." Kate shook her head, not wanting to know what he was talking about. "We have some questions about the baby."

"What baby?"

"Our baby," she rolled her eyes, "mine and Osgood's."

"Oh! That baby." There was a loud clunk and then the line was suddenly much clearer. "What questions?"

"I think it would be better in person, Doctor, don't you think?" Kate asked, a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

From the other end of the call there was a long, irritable sigh. "Fine. I'll be there in five."

In actual fact it was an hour and a half later when the familiar sound of the TARDIS met their ears. The two women barely glanced up from their lunch as the back door opened and the Doctor walked into the kitchen. He looked around expectantly, obviously hoping for some kind of large welcome, but was sorely disappointed when the only reaction to his arrival was Kate putting her spoon down beside her bowl of soup and arching an eyebrow at him.

"I come half way across the universe and you don't even–"

"Doctor, what's the likelihood of something… unusual… showing up when we go for the twenty week scan later?"

"Like what?"

Kate's incredulity was written all over her face. "Like an extra set of limbs? Medical complications? I have no idea, Doctor, that's why we're asking you! What might that tea or the Time Vortex have done to our baby?"

"Kate…"

"Sorry, Os." She sighed, glancing at her fiancé and offering her a weak smile. "We just need a proper answer so we can prepare ourselves."

"I'm sure there will be no extra limbs." The Doctor replied placating, rolling his eyes. "If you're really bothered I can give you a once over, make sure everything's in order?"

"That's good of you." Kate told him sarcastically.

"Thank you, Doctor." Osgood said with a smile, sending the older woman a look as she followed the Time Lord into the garden.

The Doctor led the two women into the TARDIS and through the corridors to a room they'd never seen before. It looked like an incredibly high-tech hospital ward. Kate could help picking up several of the instruments dotted around and examining them closely.

"Put it down."

"I'm just looking!"

"Well don't." He said, plucking the device from her hand and replacing it on the tray. "Now, Osgood, on the bed please."

The brunette did as she was told, lying on the plastic bed and lifting her t-shirt to uncover her stomach. She couldn't deny she was a little disappointed as the Doctor wheeled a perfectly ordinary ultrasound machine towards her. Wiggling her fingers in Kate's direction, she waited until the other woman was at her side before nodding at the Doctor and allowing him to begin the examination.

After a very long couple of minutes and some very worrying muttering and huffing, the Doctor finally turned to the couple with a broad grin. Their expectant, nervous faces greeted him, clearly wondering what he was about to tell them. At the grin he was regarding them with, both women looked, if anything, even more concerned.

"I'm proud to announce that you're having a healthy, completely _boring_ human child." He told them with a flourish. "You're welcome."

"Really?" Osgood glanced at Kate, who had pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and was regarding the Doctor with a hopeful expression. "It's OK? There's nothing… weird?"

"Well, it's human…" the Doctor shrugged, "but there's nothing _you_ would consider 'weird'." Simultaneously, the couple let out long sighs of relief. "I would be willing to bet that she'll have superior intelligence, though; the Time Vortex apparently does that."

"It does?" Osgood asked at the same moment as Kate gasped.

"She?"

"Wait, what?" The brunette realised the information she'd overlooked, turning to the Doctor.

"Yeah… according to my wife, anyway. She was always going on about how much smarter than me she was."

"Yes, River's excellent." Kate wafted a hand at him. "Did you say _she_ , Doctor? The baby is a girl?"

"I assume so." He shrugged. "I'm not great at the whole gender thing. You should probably check that when you go to your scan."

"A girl?"

"Well… that one is." He announced casually, pointing to one of the shadows on the screen. "I think that one might be the opposite."

"Opposite?"

"That one?"

"Oh no…" Osgood shook her head violently. "No, no. Nope."

"Calm down, sweetheart." Kate ordered gently. "Doctor, are you serious?"

"Always." He chuckled. "Actually no, not always, but–"

"About this, Doctor!" Kate couldn't stop herself almost shouting at him. "Are you serious about this?"

"Yes." He nodded, almost pouting at the blonde.

For a couple of moments Kate and Osgood sat in stunned silence, mentally digesting what they'd just learnt. The Doctor watched them for a moment, tapping his fingers on the edge of the ultrasound screen, before turning away and pottering around the hospital ward-like room. When another couple of moments passed and neither woman made any sign they were thinking about moving, he sighed.

"Lovely as it was to see you both I've got a prior occasion that–"

"You have a time machine, Doctor." Kate reminded him. "We just need a moment to process… all this."

He shrugged. "What is there to process? You and Osgood are having babies. They're going to be fantastic and you're going to be fantastic parents. It's as simple as that."

At his words, Osgood burst into loud, body-shaking sobs and Kate wrapped an arm around her. The Doctor looked terrified, as though he thought he had broken the scientist somehow. When the brunette mumbled something incoherent, he looked at Kate for a translation.

"She asked whether you really think she's going to be fantastic."

"Yeah, of course I do." He agreed, still looking mildly panicked.

"And me?"

The Doctor blinked at the quiet, unusually insecure tone that Kate asked her question with. "I think you'll be fantastic too. You've done a great job with Gordy and Emily and I've been reliably informed that all of your daughter's less than appealing qualities come directly from her father."

"Who told you that?" Kate asked, a split second before a look of realisation crossed her face. "It was Emily, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was." The Doctor agreed. "But I think she's probably right."

"Thank you." Kate smiled weakly at the Doctor, caught slightly off guard by his sudden seriousness.

"You're welcome. Now… I really do have somewhere to be."

Rolling her eyes half-heartedly Kate stood, supporting the still-sobbing Osgood, towards the doors. She waved as the TARDIS dematerialised, before guiding her fiancé back inside and focusing on calming her down before they went to the hospital and pretended to be surprised by the twins announcement.


	32. Hello, Stranger!

Kate snuck a quick look at her mobile, taking care to keep the movement out of her fiancé's eye line. Not that Osgood would probably have noticed anyway. The pregnant brunette was deep in conversation with Serena; the pair of them cooing over a cream bodysuit and dungaree set with tiny acorns and the phrase 'watch me grow' swirled across it. The three of them and Emily had been going out for lunch, when the youngest woman had been urgently called into work to deal with a so-called filing emergency. Serena hadn't understood what that could possibly entail, but it was soon pointed out that the types of things they 'filed' could cause all sorts of issues.

"… about these, sweetheart?"

The blonde looked up wide-eyed with absolutely no idea what she was being asked. "Huh?"

"These matching rompers?" Osgood repeated, too distracted to notice that Kate hadn't been listening. "They're adorable, right?"

"They are." Kate agreed, putting her mobile away and taking one of the suits from her fiancé to look at it more closely. "No pink or blue in sight!"

Serena chuckled. "No stereotyping; I like it."

"Of course not." The blonde shook her head and grinned broadly. "My only, slight, concern is where we're going to keep everything. I mean… I'm not sure we're going to have any space for the babies at this rate."

Osgood pouted at her. "But they're so cute…"

"At least you've got Em's room now for extra storage."

"Em's room?" Kate chuckled. "I can't see her being thrilled having to sleep amongst all the baby things." She looked at Serena, who seemed to be frozen; her eyes wide and slightly confused. "Hang on… what did you mean?"

"I thought you knew." Serena admitted in embarrassment. "I wouldn't have mentioned it otherwise…"

"Is Em moving out?" The blonde asked, reading between the lines and fixing her daughter's girlfriend with a hard look. "Are you officially moving in together?"

"Umm…"

"It's about bloody time." Kate sighed, exchanging a look with Osgood. "We've been wondering when this was going to happen."

"What she means is that we're very happy for you both." The younger brunette said with a chuckle.

Kate was about to say something else, when her mobile started vibrating in her pocket. Fumbling as she tried to locate it quickly, the blonde pulled a face at her companions before turning away and talking quickly in a low voice. Behind her, Osgood and Serena exchanged a look, guessing what was coming next.

Ending the call, Kate turned to look at them sheepishly. "I need to pop into work."

"Why?"

"There's been an issue with one of the isolation units. Sam and Josh are dealing with it, but Colonel Shindi thinks I should come in."

"Is this anything to do with what Emily went to deal with?" Serena asked warily. She knew enough about UNIT to know that her girlfriend was dealing with situations she couldn't begin to get her head around on a daily basis.

"Yes." The blonde replied bluntly.

Osgood winced. "Is it her fault?"

Serena looked affronted on her girlfriend's behalf. "Why would it be Emily's fault?"

"It might not be…" Kate glanced across at Osgood. "Depends whether she followed the filing instructions properly."

"I hate it when you talk in code." Serena muttered. "Right, off you pop, then. Osgood and I will be perfectly alright spending money and having lunch."

Kate didn't need telling twice. She hurriedly made her way out of the shop and out onto the street, where she hailed a cab. Throughout the journey towards the Tower of London, Kate kept in contact with her team, listening to their monitoring of the situation. She was slightly confused about what they were telling her, unsure that it was even possible, but she knew better than to disregard something on the grounds that it didn't _seem_ feasible.

"Anderson?"

"They're in lower section, Ma'am." The officer informed her without even needing to be asked. "East side."

"Thank you."

Kate strode through the stone corridors of the ancient base until she came to the doorway that led through to the space Anderson had directed her towards. Throwing open the door, she strode inside and looked around at the large number of her team who were gathered inside.

"Ms Stewart…"

"Where's the breach?" Kate demanded. Instinctively she looked around for her daughter, spotting the younger woman crouched at the base of the large isolation unit with a clipboard in her hands.

"Isolation Unit 7." Lieutenant Bishop informed her immediately, appearing at her side without warning. "Emily's been monitoring it since she got here and the readings are spiking off the charts."

"What are we thinking? Where's McGillop?"

"Here, Ma'am." The scientist announced his presence at her words, leaping forward eagerly. "It seems to be some kind of teleportation energy. Something's locked onto the coordinates for the base and is attempting to materialise inside the isolation unit."

"But that's ridiculous. The whole point of an isolation unit is–"

"Quite, Ma'am," McGillop agreed, almost pushing his tablet into her hands, "but if you'll just take a look at these…"

"That base code…" Kate trailed off, marching over to the desktop computer and tapping at it insistently. "It's a few digits off, but could it be…"

"Are we willing to take that risk?" Sam asked, looking at her seriously.

Kate glanced over at her daughter, who raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Em?"

"Three digits difference… all consecutive numbers." The younger woman reasoned. "The reader has been a little… wonky… since that meteor shower the other week. It could just be an error on the system."

"McGillop?"

"Emily's right… we've been struggling to reconfigure the base code reader properly. Sometimes it's accurate; sometimes it's a few digits off. I can't say for certain whether this is right or not." He confirmed Emily's words with a shrug. "But to be able to try and materialise in an isolation unit… whatever that might be is pretty powerful."

"I say we see how this plays out." Emily suggested with a grin.

Her mother frowned. "You've said that about so many things that have turned out to be unmitigated disasters."

"I have to agree with Emily, Ma'am." Captain Carter took a step-forward.

"Of course you do." Kate sighed, looking between them quickly, before turning to the UNIT soldiers gathered behind them. "OK, formation 12, wait for my command." As they got into position, she looked at Emily and nodded sharply. "Lower the defensive shields. Let them in."

Everyone held their breath as Emily tapped on the control panel fixed on the large cylindrical unit. There was a whirring sound as the force field around the base of the unit descended, leaving them completely defenceless to prevent whatever was trying to materialise appearing in their midst. Taking a single step back, the young brunette glanced at her mother as an oddly distorted sound reached their ears from inside the isolation unit. Kate nodded sharply in response as they waited for the noise to die down and whoever was inside to emerge.

They didn't have a long wait, before the side panel slid aside and a woman emerged. She was about Emily's height, with shoulder-length blonde hair and dark clothing that looked to be several sizes too big for her. Everyone stared as she looked around in apparent confusion, wrinkling her nose as she took in her surroundings.

"Well that's a bit rubbish…" She muttered. "I was aiming for Torchwood."

"Rude." Emily muttered under her breath as her mother stepped forward to greet their guest.

"Kate Stewart, Head of Scientific Research at UNIT." She announced, holding out her hand formally.

To their great surprise, the other woman rolled her eyes. "I know who you are, Kate. It's me… the Doctor. Regeneration… I suppose the gender swap had to happen sooner or later."

"Doctor?"

" _Hello_ , Doctor…" Emily whistled, earning herself a frown from her mother. "What? She got _really_ hot."

"Thank you, Emily." The Doctor grinned at her, before popping back inside the isolation unit, much to everyone's confusion. She raised her voice so that they could still hear her. "I think the old girl got a bit confused. I set the coordinates for Cardiff, but the location plotter must have slipped a bit. Sorry about that!"

"It's… fine?" Kate sounded more confused than anything else.

"Hang on two seconds…"

There was a familiar wheezing sound and then, slowly, the TARDIS began to materialise in the middle of the floor. Emily moved to stand beside Kate, silently asking whether everything was as it seemed. Kate, unsure herself, merely jerked her shoulders in a sharp shrug. As soon as the TARDIS was completely solid once more, the doors were thrown open and the Doctor appeared with a broad grin splitting her face. Her eyes flickered between Kate and Emily, before moving over the soldiers that Kate had stood down and the bewildered – yet slightly excited – looking scientists.

As her gaze settled on the two Stewarts again, her grin grew even wider. "So… tell me more about how hot I am."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been ages - I'm really sorry! End of term is crazy with reports and parents' evenings and concerts (not to mention getting ready for next term!)
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter. 
> 
> I'm SUPER excited about #13, if you hadn't guessed.


	33. Fighting Fire with... Filing?

It had been an incredibly difficult weekend. Elinor had arrived, unannounced, to visit her mother and, to her great disgust, found that Emily had officially moved in. Serena had persuaded her daughter to stay for the weekend, but it had simply been two days of painfully awkward silences and barbed comments aimed at the couple, who did their best to ignore them and stay cheerful. Jason, as always, hadn't noticed the tension until just before Elinor was about to leave and then made an extremely pointed comment about how nice it would be if they all got on.

On top of that, Emily had thoughtlessly informed Serena about the Doctor's latest regeneration. She hadn't stopped to consider how the older woman would feel when she told her how flirty the pretty, young-looking Doctor had been. Serena had clenched her jaw as Emily spoke, finding that she had less trouble getting her head around the fact that the man she'd met was now a woman, than the fact that Emily seemed unable to stop talking about her.

It was only when Elinor made a comment – hoping that, for Serena's sake, Emily would leave her mother for this other woman that she was evidently so attracted to – that Emily realised what she was doing. The expression on her face as she realised how it was coming across was enough to reassure Serena that there was no danger of Elinor's predication coming to pass. Emily's attempts to reassure and make it up to her hadn't been unwelcome, either.

On Monday morning the usual pre-work routine fell into place as it always did. Jason was up and about first; knocking politely on Serena and Emily's door to make sure they were awake. Emily groaned, as she always did, reaching out and wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. She buried her head in Serena's shoulder and threw her left leg over the older woman's hip in an attempt to stop her leaving their warm cocoon in the bed. Chuckling, Serena ran a hand lazily through Emily's messy hair and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Every morning?"

"Every morning." Emily repeated. "I hate mornings."

"Yes, but work calls, my love." Serena reminded her, extricating herself from the younger woman's arms and moving across to the door that lead to the en-suite. "Come on, wake up."

"I don't want to."

Watching as the twenty-year-old stubbornly rolled over and buried her head in her pillow, Serena smirked. She knew that by the time she had completed her morning routine in the bathroom Emily would be dressed and downstairs eating cereal and watching TV with Jason. It astonished Serena how little effort her girlfriend put into getting ready and yet she still looked as though she'd spent a long time on her appearance.

As she'd suspected, Serena found the two on the sofa in the living room; eating coco pops and watching cartoons. As always, a plate of toast and mug of coffee sat on the table in front of them, waiting for her. Her heart swelled with affection for the two brunettes who hadn't yet noticed her presence in the room. When they did, they both smiled at her; Jason briefly, before turning back to the television, and Emily for longer, her affection plain to see in her eyes.

"I'm going to Alan's after work." Jason announced suddenly. "There's a World's Strongest Man competition on the telly and he said he'd watch it with me."

Not waiting for any reply, the young man stood up and carried his bowl and glass into the kitchen. Serena glanced at Emily in amusement at the tone he had employed and saw that the younger woman was grinning at her. Taking the free space on the sofa, Serena reached for her coffee mug.

"What?"

"Funny how Jason decided he was going to Alan's after I mentioned wanting to take you out tonight."

Serena furrowed her eyebrows. "What?"

"I told Jason I wanted to take you out, just you and me, to make up for the weekend." Emily elaborated. "I said I'd wait until he was going out for the evening so that he wasn't left here on his own. Obviously he decided that tonight was the night."

With a smirk, Serena tilted her head as she looked at her girlfriend. "Tonight, then? We should book a rest–"

"Leave it to me." Emily ordered, leaning over and pressing a lingering kiss to her lips. "I've got it under control."

"Now that I don't believe." The older woman chuckled, wrapping a hand around the back of her girlfriend's neck and pulling her in for another kiss.

"Just be ready at seven, OK?"

Intrigued, Serena bundled Jason and herself into her car and made her way across the city towards work, leaving Emily to hastily book a table for that evening. The twenty-year-old wasn't above name-dropping in order to secure them a reservation and finally managed to get them a table at one of Kate's favourite restaurants at eight.

That, though, meant she was late leaving for work and by the time she arrived at the Tower she knew that there was no way her absence would have been missed. As she had expected Cleaverly tutted at her and tapped at the watch on his wrist, signalling just how late she was.

"You're here just in time for lunch."

"Don't exaggerate; it's only half ten."

"But you'll be wanting your full lunch break, won't you?"

"Of course."

Waving a hand at him, she went straight to the desk in the corner where piles of papers were still waiting for her. Cleaverly watched her with disapproval for a while, but Emily was so caught up in what she was doing that she barely noticed. Even if she had, she didn't really care what the old man thought of her.

"Have you seen the 2003 Disintegration Loop Fire file?" Emily asked twenty minutes later. She had managed to clear about a third of the files that had been dumped on her desk, but she was struggling to work out where the particular file she was looking for was. "I can't find it."

"Try looking under 'F'." Cleaverly suggested.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Why didn't I think of that?"

Shaking her head, she continued her search through the drawers of files that came under 'F' in the system. There were lots of files labelled 'Fire' but none of them were the one she was after. Finally, the young woman resorted to doing the thing she had been warned not to do and pulled out her mobile to text Osgood.

' _ **Os, Mum said I'm not allowed to ask you, but where is the file on the 2003 Disintegration Loop Fire? I need to cross-reference the external agencies with the 2012 Chronon Integration Fire. xox**_ '

' _ **It should be filed under 'D' for disintegration. Don't worry, I won't tell Kate! x**_ '

' _ **Duh! I was looking under 'F' for fire. Thanks, Os xox'**_

Irritated that she hadn't thought of that herself, Emily huffed and pushed her mobile into the back pocket of her jeans while she checked the relevant cabinet for the file. A small, triumphant sound escaped her as she located the 2003 Disintegration Loop Fire file, pulling it out and flicking through it until she found the paperwork she needed. After checking through it quickly, adding more information to the digital file she had been compiling, she slipped the final report that had turned up and been dumped on her desk back into the manila folder and replaced it in the cabinet.

Another couple of hours past. Emily was just thinking about taking a break and going to get a coffee, when the door to the archives opened and one of UNIT's grunts smiled at her broadly. Used to the looks she received, not belonging to either of the distinct groups – soldiers or scientists – within UNIT, Emily didn't pay him any attention until he said her name.

"Miss Stewart?" He repeated. "You're needed in Lab D."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure, Miss. Ms Stewart asked me to fetch you."

"Better go and see what the boss lady wants, then, hadn't we?" Emily sighed, replacing the file in her hands in the cabinet. "Lead the way, soldier boy."

He blinked at her, before jumping to attention and leaving the room. Emily smirked and shook her head lightly, following him up the stone walkways in the direction of the laboratory wing. Kate was already in the room when her daughter entered, along with McGillop and several other scientists. They seemed to all be looking at the same metal sphere in the middle of the space between the benches.

Moving to join them, the young woman peered at the orb curiously. No one spoke for a couple of minutes and her impatience soon took over. Shuffling closer to her mother, Emily nudged the blonde gently in the ribs, making her jump. Kate frowned at her, but made no attempt to explain. Instead, she pulled her daughter out of the laboratory by the arm.

"What's that?"

"Never you mind what that is." Kate replied bluntly. "A couple of crates came in from the storage facility on Sark. They've been placed in Lab A. They need sorting and cataloguing." Seeing that Emily was about to pull a face at her, she sighed. " _Emily_."

"Yes, Ma'am." The brunette nodded.

Kate heard the tiniest hint of sarcasm in her daughter's voice, but said nothing as she watched Emily stride towards the laboratory where the newly received items had been left. She watched for a moment, until the younger woman disappeared from sight and closed the door behind her. Sighing again, Kate returned to Lab D and re-joined the scientists who were attempting to discover the use of the metal sphere in the centre of the room.

They had already spent more than an hour simply staring at the orb, unable to work out what it was or what it did. The smooth surface had an oil-slick colouring that changed depending on the angle at which it was observed. There were no markings of any kind and no raised areas or indents that would signify an opening. The sphere wasn't giving off any readings at all. All in all, they were completely mystified about the object.

Finally, Kate had enough of staring at nothing in particular and motioned for McGillop to follow her from the laboratory. They made their way quickly towards her office, Kate nodding at Andrew as they passed and asking whether she'd had any calls.

Her assistant nodded. "The Prime Minister called again and–"

"If you're about to tell me that he wants to rearrange again, then I'm not going to be impressed."

"Technically it's not rearranging again if he wants to swap it back to the original time."

"I can't meet him today, Andrew." Kate shook her head. "That's ridiculous. I've rescheduled to fit him in tomorrow and that's that. I'm not changing things around again."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Nodding towards her office, Kate led McGillop inside and smiled at him. She motioned for him to take the seat in front of her desk and collapsed into her chair. The two began discussing their next move in the investigation of the orb, although neither really had much idea where to go other than keeping it under constant, close observation. McGillop reminded Kate of the incident a few years previously when they'd kept thousands of cubes under observation and carried out various tests for a whole year before discovering anything.

"You're right, but–" Kate broke off as a violent explosion rocked the whole building. "What the hell was that?"

Sprinting from her office, Kate glanced at the terrified face of her Personal Assistant, before telling him to make his way outside to the assembly point and make sure everyone was accounted for. Seeing the expression on his face, she huffed quietly and instructed McGillop to go with him.

Kate headed in the opposite direction to almost everyone else, pushing through the swarm of people making their way desperately towards the exit. Catching one of the scientists by the arm she demanded to know where they were running from. Hearing that they were fleeing from the laboratory corridor, Kate's blood ran cold in her veins and she started running again, pushing desperately past the mix of scientists and soldiers heading for the way out.

Some were injured, others supporting those who were. Kate paused briefly to speak to a young man being supported by two colleagues, blood gushing from a wound on his head. Another man was being helped along the corridor towards her with his right leg held at a strange angle. There were many others, bleeding and bruised and obviously in a great deal of pain. Kate felt physically sick as she got closer and closer to the corridor where she'd left Emily.

Her first stop was in Lab A and, to her immense relief, there was no sign of her daughter anywhere. The laboratory was in complete disarray; equipment littering the surfaces and the floor, smashed glass and chemicals seeping from their containers. There was a hole in the wall connecting it to Lab B and Kate knew without a doubt where the cause of the explosion was.


	34. Exceptionally Bad Timing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did promise to update tomorrow... but then I felt bad about leaving you on such a cliffhanger! 
> 
> So here you go! :)

Osgood frowned, running one hand over her rounded stomach and using the other to rub at the small of her back. She was a couple of days away from her due date, only on the fourth day of her maternity leave and she had already run out of things to do. Kate had left her strict instructions about what she was and wasn't allowed to do while the older woman was at work and Osgood was sorely tempted to break the rules and do something off the 'banned' list just for something to do. There was only so much daytime TV she could bring herself to watch.

' _ **Meeting with PM postponed until tomorrow. I may make it home earlier than anticipated. x'**_

' _ **Excellent! I'm looking forward to it! x'**_

Smiling broadly at the text from her fiancée, Osgood relaxed back against the sofa cushions with a sigh. The thought of Kate returning home early was enough to allow her to suffer through the rest of the quiz show on the television. There was nothing wrong with the programme, Osgood thought as she answered the latest rather simple question, it was the fact that the contestants knew none of the answers that bothered her.

' _ **Os, Mum said I'm not allowed to ask you, but where is the file on the 2003 Disintegration Loop Fire? I need to cross-reference the external agencies with the 2012 Chronon Integration Fire. xox**_ '

' _ **It should be filed under 'D' for disintegration. Don't worry, I won't tell Kate! x**_ '

' _ **Duh! I was looking under 'F' for fire. Thanks, Os xox'**_

Rolling her eyes, wondering how many times she'd reminded Emily about how the system worked before she'd left, Osgood dropped her phone onto the coffee table and settled back down to watch the TV.

* * *

Serena looked up as the door to her office was thrown open so violently that it bounced off the filing cabinet. Fletch stared at her, not in the least apologetic, as she arched an eyebrow questionably at his behaviour. He seemed to be breathing heavily, as though he'd been running. Serena waited for him to explain himself, twisting in her desk chair to face him.

"Numerous incoming," he informed her hastily, "there's been an explosion in the city and there are so many injured that they're shipping the wounded literally all over the place."

Serena frowned, standing and following him onto AAU at once. "Do we have any details?"

"News reports aren't particularly detailed at the moment. They're just saying there's been an explosion at the Tower of London and–"

The colour drained from Serena's face immediately. "Th– The Tower of London? Oh my God…"

"Serena?"

Instead of answering, she busied herself preparing for the incoming casualties. Anxiously she tried her girlfriend's number several times, but all her calls went straight to answerphone. Phoning Kate had the exact same result and so, with her heart beating rapidly in her chest, the surgeon forced herself to concentrate on the task at hand and hope, beyond hope, that the two women were not going to be amongst those brought onto her ward.

"Who've we got Fletch?" Serena asked hastily as several beds were wheeled onto the ward.

He handed her four clipboards as they rushed past the reception desk. "Darren Reagan, forty-one, crush wounds to left tibia and fibula, suspected head-injury. GCS 9, BP 80 over 50."

"Bay four… Morven?" Serena nodded at Doctor Digby, handing the relevant file over to the younger doctor. "We need FBCs, U and Es and LFTs, blood gases, X-Ray and a CT."

"Robert Arran, thirty-two, suspected fractures to the clavicle and ribs. GCS 13, BP 130 over 90."

"Bay six… Lou, can you keep an eye on him while someone pages Doctor Burrows to get back up here. And I want the same tests done on Mr Arran, thank you."

"Kate Stewart, forty-eigh–"

"Shh… don't tell everyone!"

"Kate…" Serena dropped the clipboard and rushed around the bed so that she could look at the blonde properly. Unable to stop herself she immediately reached out to check the blonde's pulse, watching the way her pupils reacted normally to the light on the ward.

"Serena." Struggling to sit up, the woman smiled at her weakly. "I'm fine, honestly; just a few cuts and bruises. No need to waste your time on me."

"Don't be ridiculous. I need to check you over."

" _Someone_ should probably check me over." Kate reminded her. "It doesn't have to be you, Rena. I'm sure you've got far more important things to do."

"Kate–"

"Besides, I expect you're eager to get back to that daughter of mine." Serena frowned at the words, unsure what Kate meant. "She's obviously alright if you're up here working."

"What are you talking about?"

At her total confusion, Kate sat up on the trolley and scanned Serena's face quickly. "You haven't seen Emily?"

"No? She's here?"

"She must be… she has to be…"

"Kate, what happened?"

The blonde was fighting against her now, forcing her way off the trolley and in the direction of the swinging double doors that she had just been wheeled in through. "I was in the last ambulance… I looked for her… she wasn't there… I made sure I was last… she's got to be here… if she's not, then…"

Serena felt sick to her stomach as the meaning of Kate's unfinished sentence hung between them. Backing away from the other woman, she hurried over to the reception desk and snatched up the phone from the surface. Without thinking about what she was doing, she punched in the extension for the ED and waited impatiently for someone to answer.

"ED, Noel spe–"

"It's Serena Campbell. Have you had an Emily Stewart brought in with the Tower of London incident. She's twenty… shoulder-length brown hair with electric blue streaks and she–"

"Ms Campbell, it's chaos down here at the moment. We've had twenty brought in here, some have gone up to you and Keller and there are more over at St James."

"Please, Noel." Serena almost begged. "Just check."

There was a sigh from the other end of the line and then a muffled sound of triumph. "She was brought in here. They've taken her into resus… bay 4. Why are you–?"

He didn't even have time to finish his question before Serena dropped the handset, grabbed Kate's hand and rushed in the direction of the stairs. The surgeon explained what was happening as they ran towards the ED, bursting into the department and looking around wildly. Spotting one of her colleagues heading towards the resus bays Serena led the way quickly towards her, determined to demand answers about her girlfriend's condition.

"Connie!"

"Serena, now is _not_ –"

"Please… what's happening? Emily Stewart…"

Mrs Beauchamp frowned at her. "Miss Stewart will be sent up to you on AAU as soon as we stabiliser her. We don't have the space for her down here."

"What's wrong with her?" Kate demanded, surging forward. "Why does she need stabilising?"

"This is her mother, Kate Stewart." Serena introduced the panicked blonde distractedly. "Connie…?"

"She's got a moderate head injury with a GCS of 9. BP was extremely low on arrival and heart rate was rapid. She's hypoxic and has a pneumothorax, due to her chest injury. Several cracked ribs, broken right arm, left leg and a penetrating wound to her abdomen."

"Has she regained consciousness?"

The consultant shook her head. "Apparently she was conscious when the paramedics found her, but it didn't last until they got her into the ambulance. She's been out ever since."

"Have you done a CT scan?" Serena demanded. "What's–?"

"Of course we have." Connie snapped. "She's got a linear closed fracture; it doesn't look as though we'll have to operate unless something changes. The penetrating abdomen wound, on the other hand, does need operating on. I've already contacted Keller and they're going to rush her in as soon as Ric is out of surgery."

"Can I see her?" Kate asked, her voice croaky and broken. "Please…"

With a sigh, the consultant nodded and led them towards the resus bay where Emily was being treated. Things seemed to have calmed down significantly by the time they arrived, with no doctors in sight; just a couple of nurses monitoring her. After a quick nod from Connie, they moved aside to let Kate have a couple of moments with her daughter.

"I'm going to speak to Sacha." Serena informed her bluntly.

"Serena…"

"If he's doing the surgery then I want to speak to him."

"Don't you trust him?"

"Of course I trust him. I just… I want to speak to him."

Without a second glance at her girlfriend, Serena turned and strode out of the bay. Kate stared after her for a moment, before moving to the bedside, trained eyes assessing the prone figure of the twenty-year-old before she reached out to gently push a strand of hair away from her face. She had to trust that the medical professionals would be able to treat her daughter successfully. If Serena trusted them, then who was she to argue.

"Ms Stewart? Theatre is ready for her, now."

"Already?" Kate looked up in astonishment.

"It's been over half an hour." The nurse informed her.

"Right…" Surreptitiously, the blonde wiped her eyes. "I need to ring my partner and my son… let them know what's happening."

"There's a coffee shop down near the entrance. I'll tell someone to come and find you when she's out of surgery… it will be a couple of hours, though."

Nodding, Kate watched as they wheeled the trolley out of the resus bay and in the direction of the lifts. Running both hands through her hair she decided to get some fresh air while she phoned Osgood and Gordy to tell them what had happened. She felt bad for not letting them know she was safe straight away, knowing that they would have heard that something had happened by now, but also knowing that they would understand why she hadn't.

* * *

"The operation was a complete success."

The trio looked up from their mugs at the man who had spoken. Disbelief crossed each face as they studied his, looking for something else behind his eyes. Sacha Levy simply smiled at Kate, Osgood and Gordy, taking a seat at the table while he waited for one of them to formulate one of the hundreds of questions running through their minds.

"Can we see her?"

"Is she awake?"

"Where's Serena?"

All three questions were asked simultaneously and the man smiled. "Of course you can see her. No, she's still asleep at the moment. Serena's with her."

Kate breathed a sigh of relief at the knowledge that Serena was with Emily. The way she'd avoided even looking at the younger woman while she'd been in the resus bay had worried Kate greatly. Although she hadn't wanted to see her daughter lying on the trolley, it had been preferable to not seeing her.

"How long do you think she'll be asleep?" Osgood asked, seeing that Kate was struggling to speak.

"We're keeping her under sedation until we're completely sure she's going to be alright."

"And how long will her recovery take?" Gordy asked, pragmatic as always. "How long will she be in here? What can we expect?"

"She'll be here for at least a week, depending on how her recovery goes." Sacha explained gently. "We'll monitor her progress every step of the way until we're satisfied she's well enough to go home. I would advise she has complete rest for a further three weeks to a month at least. There'll be follow up appointments with further scans to assess her condition."

"She's not going to like that." Gordy muttered; a hint of a grin twisting the corners of his lips.

"From what I've heard, no, she probably won't." Sacha chuckled before glancing at Osgood who was running a hand over her stomach worriedly. "How long have you got left?"

"Two days." The brunette sighed. She ran her hand over her stomach again, looking towards her partner for reassurance. "This is exceptionally bad timing."

"We'll manage, love." Kate promised her determinedly. "We'll be OK."

Leaving them in peace, Sacha made his way back up to Keller and the three sitting round the table looked at each other in silence for a long while. Gordy was the first to move, saying he'd go and sit with Serena while they talked. His mother sent him a grateful smile, reaching out to squeeze his hand before he went.

"What happened?" Osgood asked in a small voice.

Kate shook her head, tears gathering in her eyes. "I don't know. We were monitoring something in one of the labs… it wasn't doing anything. I thought… I thought we'd have some warning if…" Kate put her head in her hands wearily. "I should have–"

"Kate, I know you. If there was any hint it there was an imminent danger you'd have taken every precaution possible." Osgood said firmly. "You definitely wouldn't have let Em near it. She's not trained or anything!"

"She wasn't near it, Os. They were in Lab D, she was in A." Kate said softly, looking at her fiancée with tear-filled eyes. "The lab she was in… the damage in there wasn't nearly bad enough for her to be this injured. I _checked_ … she…"

"She didn't stay where you put her, Kate. She's curious, you can't blame her for that." Osgood reasoned. Seeing the blonde opening her mouth, she shook her head. "You can't blame yourself, either. It was an accident. You heard Mr Levy; the surgery was a success… Em's going to be OK."

"She's never going back to the Tower, Os. _Never_. We'll have to find her another job."

Osgood smiled, remembering the last time her girlfriend had said something similar about her daughter's future career. She said nothing, merely struggling to her feet and holding out her hand to Kate. The couple walked, hand-in-hand, towards the lifts and then up to Keller ward. They were shown into a private side room and Gordy smiled at them, rising so that Osgood could sit down and going to fetch another chair for his mother.

"Tell… Doctor… I want… need… Doctor." Emily croaked out suddenly, a couple of moments after they'd settled, surprising them all. Her voice was cracked and faint, barely audible, but they caught her words nevertheless.

"Sacha? Sacha!" Serena shouted, moving to the door urgently. "Emily's awake. She's asking for you."

Emily shook her head awkwardly. "No. _The_ Doctor. I want _the_ Doctor. I have to tell her… she has to know… it's _only_ her."

Serena's blood turned to ice in her veins. "It's only her… what?"

"She'll know…" The younger woman almost whispered. "She'll understand."

"Understand what?" Serena demanded, her eyes flashing as she turned to Kate. The blonde shook her head, at a loss for words to answer. Her eyes were fixed on her now sleeping daughter. "What did she mean ' _it's only her_ '? Kate!"

"I don't know, Serena!" She admitted. "But I do know that it doesn't mean what you think it means."

"And what _do_ I think it means?" The brunette snapped.

"You think Emily has feelings for the Doctor. That she'd choose her over you. I can tell you right now that is so far from the truth."

"I don't–"

" _No one_ knows my daughter as well as I do." Kate continued, ignoring Serena's unspoken argument. "She is _in love_ with _you_. She needs _you_. She wants _you_." Kate sighed. "Serena… I know it's hard, but you've got to stop questioning it."

Osgood nodded, reaching forward and squeezing Kate's hand. "It took her long enough to follow her own advice, but she got there in the end."

"So, Serena…" Kate looked at her with eyes that were full of meaning. "Are you in or out?"

"Sorry?"

"Emily needs you now. But if you're not sure… if the tiniest part of you isn't sure… back out now, Serena." The blonde said softly. "No hard feelings, we'll understand. Go now, while she's asleep. We'll explain everything to Emily and deal with her afterwards."

Serena frowned at them, unable to believe what she was hearing. Her eyes flashed dangerously. " _Go_? Why would I _go_?"

"If this is too much… everything we take for granted must be a lot for you to get your head around; UNIT and the Doctor and everything else. I understand. You and Emily… it's happened so fast. It must be a lot of pressure being the one who got her to settle down… not knowing if it's going to last. Is what you have to gain worth all the pain and suffering down the line?"

"Please don't presume to lecture me on _my_ relationship, Kate Stewart." Serena snapped after staring at the blonde for a long moment. "I'm not going _anywhere_. Not now, not ever."

Kate smiled. "Good."


	35. A Fine Pair

"Em, sweetheart, wake up."

The young woman blinked several times before she slowly came round. Taking a deep breath, she carefully pulled herself up to lie against the pillows, wincing as the movement tugged at the stiches in her abdomen. A look of concern crossed Serena's face and she stepped forward and pressed a hand to her girlfriend's cheek.

"Steady, darling." Serena cautioned. "Mind those stitches."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." The older woman promised gently. "Osgood's in labour."

A bright smile crept slowly across Emily's face as she realised what she'd just heard. "Really?"

Serena nodded, perching beside her on the hospital bed. She wrapped an arm around her girlfriend, allowing Emily to snuggle into her side, as she stretched her legs out along the bed. Throwing an arm over the older woman's waist, Emily exhaled as she pulled the stitches again. Covering the sound quickly, she pressed an open-mouthed kiss to Serena's collarbone.

"Plenty of time for that, later." Serena chuckled.

"Worried one of your colleagues might walk in?" Emily teased.

"Yes, actually." Her girlfriend replied simply. "That would ruin the moment, slightly."

Emily sighed, resting her head on Serena's chest. "When can I go home?"

"At the end of the week, all being well." Serena promised, dropping a kiss onto her hair. "I've arranged some cover for myself so that I can be around to look after you."

"My own personal sexy nurse." Emily lifted her head so that she could wink at Serena, making the older woman chuckle. "Excellent!"

"Behave."

"Make me."

Serena laughed again at the challenge, capturing her girlfriend's lips with her own in a long, lingering kiss. Emily hummed contentedly, attempting to deepen the kiss, but Serena pulled back, rubbing their noses together before settling back against the pillows.

"Tell me what happened." She implored her girlfriend. "I need to understand."

"It wasn't Mum's fault; it was completely my fault. I was supposed to be cataloguing artefacts but I couldn't resist the stupid orb thing. They were studying it in one of the other labs, but Mum sent me out of the way. I needed to know what it was and what it was for. I went into the lab when Mum had gone." Emily sighed. "And then… she turned up, obviously. The Doctor is never far away from trouble."

"The Doctor…" Serena's expression twisted with distain. "Of course."

Emily looked at her for a moment and then shrugged. "Apparently we couldn't detect any readings being given out by the sphere, but she could. We thought we were getting somewhere when the whole thing just… clamped shut. She went into the TARDIS to check something and then… BAM."

Serena jumped at the sudden interjection. "What?"

"It opened and this… this face burst out of it. It said… something like, ' _only the Doctor can save us_ ' and then vanished."

Understanding suddenly blossomed over Serena's face. "Oh… that's why you wanted to tell the Doctor that it was only her. I thought…"

Emily scrunched up her features in confusion. "What did you think?"

Struggling against the wires that were hooking her up to the monitors, she reached out to Serena. The older woman took her hand, holding it tightly and raising it to her lips so that she could press a kiss to her knuckles, before pressing it to her cheek.

"What did you think?" Emily repeated softly. When her girlfriend failed to answer, the brunette sighed deeply. "Sweetheart… for someone so brilliant, you're really slow on the uptake here, aren't you? I love you, you daft mare."

"Why?"

The disbelief in Serena's eyes caused a physical pain to shoot through Emily's chest. She was surprised that the monitor beside her hadn't registered it. Emily knew that Serena's reluctance to believe in her feelings for her came from her ex-husband's behaviour and was exacerbated by the knowledge of what Emily had been like before they'd met. That would normally have been more than enough to send the twenty-year-old running for the hills – or the TARDIS – but something about Serena made Emily want to stay; to hold on tight until she finally got the message.

"To be quite honest, I don't know." She admitted simply.

"Right."

"You're a pain in the ass." Emily continued. "You question everything, you don't understand just how much I care about you and you always, always have to be right and have the last word on everything."

"Well, that's quite the list of–"

"Shut up, Serena!" Emily laughed at the expression on the older woman's face. "But none of that matters, really, because I adore you anyway. We've really got to stop all this…" She shook her head. "The worry, the questioning… we've got to trust each other around other people, or…"

"We?" Serena asked, picking up on the word.

" _We_." Emily agreed. "I'm just as bad. I get jealous when anyone pays you more than the normal amount of attention; male _or_ female. I have never, never felt like that about anyone else. I never thought I would… never _wanted_ to. But when I see people flirting with you, however harmlessly, I want to storm over and punch them in the face."

Gazing at her for a moment, Serena started to laugh. Emily stared in completely bemusement as the older woman wiped her eyes and struggled to stop giggling. She failed miserably, her laughter becoming infectious and causing her girlfriend to chuckle, still completely unaware of the joke.

"Oh, we make a fine pair." Serena gasped out at last.

"I agree." Emily nodded, kissing her quickly. "So… what do you say? We stop questioning and second guessing everything and just accept that we're 'a fine pair'?"

"Yes." The older woman nodded, tucking Emily's head into the crook of her neck and dropping another kiss into her hair. "That sounds like an excellent idea, my darling."

Moments passed in comfortable silent and they were both on the verge of sleep when Emily's eyes shot open and she sat up again, dislodging Serena who grumbled sleepily.

"Osgood! Rena… you need to go and see what's happening. I want to know as soon as the babies are born."

"Gordy's there and I'm sure your mother–"

"Please? Gordy could probably do with the company, too."

With a slightly frustrated sigh, Serena nodded. She kissed Emily quickly before leaving the side room and closing the door firmly behind her. The younger woman smiled contently, settling herself back into her cocoon of blankets for a nap.

* * *

_18:54 –_ _**Mum: Congratulations, big sister! First baby just been born. Henry Thomas Osgood Stewart, 6lb 8oz. x** _

_19:07 –_ _**Mum: Second baby born! Alice Ruth Osgood Stewart, 6lb 3oz. Both doing great… absolutely perfect! Osgood is phenomenal. x** _

_19:24 –_ _**Gordy: The babies are so cute, Em. They're not blue and have the right number of heads and limbs! You need to come and meet them ASAP. I think Serena's on the case.** _

_19: 32 –_ _**Rena: I've convinced Sacha to let you leave the ward. I'm on my way up to get you now. Be ready to meet your brother and sister. Love you xx** _


	36. Tomorrow?

"Shhh…" Kate gently bounced the baby cradled against her chest, her eyes heavy with exhaustion as the little boy continued to scream in her ear. "Come on, sweetheart, shhh… it's bedtime."

From her position on the bed where she was feeding their daughter, Osgood sighed and held out an arm. "Pass him here… Alice is asleep. We can do a swap."

Gratefully, Kate transferred Henry into her fiancée's arms and cradled Alice gently. Placing the sleeping baby into her cot, Kate flopped down on the mattress beside Osgood, turning on her side to look at her. The brunette smiled gently, lifting the hand that wasn't supporting their son to cup Kate's face. Her thumb traced the older woman's cheekbone tenderly, before Kate covered Osgood's hand with her own.

"Even Emily wasn't as noisy as Henry." Kate murmured, struggling to stifle a yawn. She had vowed that she wouldn't sleep unless Osgood was able to as well. So far, it had been a struggle to uphold that promise as the elder of their twins refused to sleep for longer than an hour at a time. "I dread to think what that means for the future."

"Oh dear…" Osgood feigned concern. Then she smiled. "If these two end up remotely like their brother and sister we'll have done well."

"Mmm…"

The brunette chuckled at her fiancée's unconvinced expression. "You know it's true."

"They're not bad kids, are they?" Kate conceded, thinking about her elder children. "They could definitely be worse. They _could_ be better, especially Em, but they could also definitely be worse."

Silence fell over the bedroom for a while, disturbed only by the sounds of Henry feeding and Alice snuffling in her sleep. Kate had linked her fingers with those on the hand Osgood had placed on her cheek, watching her sleepily from her position beside her on the bed. She blinked heavily several times before clearing her throat and repositioning herself so that she was less likely to drift off.

"Go to sleep, love." Osgood commanded softly, stroking her cheek with the back of her index finger.

"No, I promised I'd stay up with you."

"Don't be silly; there's no point both of us being exhausted."

Kate shrugged. "I don't mind. When I had Emily… Daniel wasn't much of a hands-on parent while she was little. I'm used to sleep deprivation; from single parent to as-good-as-single parent to UNIT. Sleep's never featured very highly on my scale of priorities."

"You're not a single parent anymore, Kate." Osgood reminded her. "We're doing this together. I need you; I can't do this alone."

"You will _never_ be alone." The blonde promised, sitting up and kissing her tenderly.

There was a half-squawk, half-snuffle from the infant between them and they broke apart, grinning down at their now-sleeping son. Breathing a sigh of relief, Osgood carefully climbed out of bed and placed Henry in his cot, before climbing back in beside Kate. She turned on her side, facing her girlfriend with a soft smile on her face.

Raising a hand, Kate brushed a strand of hair away from Osgood's face and moved closer. She pressed their lips together gently for a couple of moments, before resting her forehead against the brunette's. Shuffling closer, Osgood wrapped an arm around Kate's waist, pulling her flush against her body.

"I love you, Kate Stewart."

Kate smiled. "I love you, too."

"So… now that I'm not roughly the size of a whale…"

"You want to get married?"

Osgood laughed, softly. "I did propose, didn't I?"

"No, I know…" Kate buried her face in the pillow for a moment, hiding her blush from her fiancée's amused gaze. "I meant… you want to get married _soon_?"

"Why not?" The brunette shrugged. "What's the point in waiting? Neither of us wants a big fancy wedding, do we?"

"No." Kate shook her head, unable to think of anything she wanted less at that particular moment.

"And I can't wait to say that you're my wife." Osgood continued, smiling softly. She nuzzled Kate's nose with her own, pressing a soft kiss to her lips that lingered for a couple of moments. "The sooner I can do that the better as far as I'm concerned."

There was a pause and then a bright smile lit up the blonde's face. "So we're getting married."

"We are."

"How soon do you think we can book it?" Kate furrowed her eyebrows. "How soon were you thinking?"

"I'd get married tomorrow, if we could."

"Tomorrow might be pushing it, just a bit." The older woman chuckled. "I think your mother might have a fit if we did that."

Sighing theatrically, Osgood nodded in agreement. "I don't think she'd ever forgive me. Next week, then?"

"Next month?" Kate countered.

With a grudging sigh, Osgood nodded again. "OK, fine, next month."

"Where d'you want to get married?"

"Westminster Abbey."

Kate huffed. "I'm going to have to pull so many strings…"

"I was kidding." Osgood told her propping her head up on her arm. "Wait? Are you serious? You _could_ get us Westminster Abbey?"

"Probably." Kate shrugged nonchalantly. "I can do most things."

Osgood smirked. "Go on then, Ms Stewart. Put your money where your mouth is."

"Right now, I'm more concerned about where my mouth _is_ … or, rather, where it isn't."

Osgood let out a hastily muffled squeal as Kate rolled on top of her and set about taking her mind off weddings for a while.


	37. Homework

"What're you doing?"

Serena entered the living room to find her girlfriend kneeling in front of the coffee table, once again, with piles of paper spread over the surface in front of her. Picking one of the sheets up and casting an interested eye over it quickly, the brunette could see that they were confidential UNIT files. She sighed, knowing how much trouble Emily would be in if anyone realised she'd been removing them from the Tower.

"Em…"

"What?"

"Why are these here?" Serena asked bluntly. "I thought we decided that it wasn't a good idea for you to bring them home."

The younger woman sighed. "I know, but if Mum's going to take me seriously and let me do something other than _filing_ all the time, then I need to learn as much as I can."

"Don't give me that, Emily Stewart. You were blown up a couple of months ago; you cannot tell me that happened while you were _filing_."

"I was, actually." Her girlfriend retorted. "Well… cataloguing, anyway. Which is equally tame."

"So why are these files here?"

"I'm familiarising myself with them. At the moment Osgood is the main authority on the Doctor and his known associates." Emily explained distractedly, hunting through one of the files for a piece of information she'd been reading. "I've got a good knowledge, but I want to be–"

"Indispensible."

"It's alright for you," the younger woman huffed, leaning back against the sofa, "you're Serena Fucking Campbell… Queen of AAU."

Serena laughed. "You've got to stop saying that… people will start thinking 'Fucking' is my legal middle name. But I honestly don't know why you're worrying about it; you're good at your job and it's already been extended from a couple of weeks work experience to months on a contract."

"Yes, but Mum is determined to find a way to end that contract. Especially after the incident the other month."

"You can't blame her, darling." The older woman reasoned gently, moving to stand behind her girlfriend. She placed one hand on her shoulder and combed the fingers of the other gently through Emily's hair, receiving a contented sound in response. "You're her daughter and she's worried about you. You nearly died, sweetheart. We almost lost you."

"But you didn't… I'm still right here."

"Mmm… you're right here obsessing over papers." With a sigh, Serena moved towards the kitchen door.

"Not obsessing. I'm sorting. I need to start archiving information about this latest regeneration, too."

"You can't archive something that hasn't happened yet!" Serena laughed.

Emily winked at her. "Maybe you can't…"

"D'you want a drink?"

"If you're putting the kettle on…" Emily murmured distractedly.

"Well, I'm opening a bottle, anyway."

"I'll have a lager then, thanks, babe."

Emily barely registered the couple of moments Serena was out of the room. She continued to look over the information spread out in front of her. Swearing as she knocked Madam Vastra's file off the coffee table and spilled its contents across the carpet, the young woman gathered the pages together and hastily attempted to put them back together in the correct order.

"Here, you go."

Smiling up at her girlfriend, she accepted the proffered bottle and took a quick swig, before returning her attention to the information once more.

Serena reached down and shuffled the papers around on the table before arching an eyebrow, "Donna Noble, River Song and… Sarah Jane Smith? Does the Doctor only travel with women? Mostly young, all very _attractive_ women at that?"

"There are some non-women in here, too." Emily informed her with a smirk of amusement, motioning towards the pile. "See… Adric… Jamie McCrimmon… Rory Williams… K9."

"Is that a robot dog?"

"Pretty cool, huh?"

Serena didn't look convinced, but said nothing. Emily knew that her girlfriend didn't understand her fascination with the Doctor and everything that went with the Gallifreyan. Rather than speaking, the older woman continued to look through the files. Although she was well aware she should not be letting Serena anywhere near the information, Emily simply watched her curiously. She took in the way surgeon's eyes paused on certain faces, lines, snippets of information; how she seemed almost wary about what she might find out.

"Which one is your favourite?"

"Huh?" Emily blinked, jumping as her girlfriend broke the quiet. "Favourite what?"

"Favourite… assistant? Person who travelled with the Doctor? Whatever they're called…"

The younger woman shrugged. "I'm not sure. They're all extraordinary in their own way. I mean… take any of them; totally ordinary until they bumped into the Doctor. There was no magic or anything involved… all it took were the right circumstances and the Doctor showing them what they were truly capable of and they became… wonderful." Emily's finger lingered on the picture of Bill Potts that was stapled to the front sheet of her file. "Doesn't hurt that a lot of them are gorgeous, too."

"Oh, really?"

Emily looked up sharply. "Before I met you I'd have been like a kid in a candy shop… begging the Doctor to let me meet them."

"Before?"

"Of course, _before_ , you daft cow." The younger woman told her quickly. " _Now_ , you could throw a dozen Amy Ponds at me and I wouldn't even blink."

"Just checking."

The young brunette smiled softly at her girlfriend, leaning in and kissing her softly, before pulling back and cupping her cheek gently. She watched the dark eyes contemplating her carefully, holding their gaze until she saw the acceptance of what she'd said. Smiling more broadly, Emily ran her eyes over Serena quickly.

It was only then that the twenty-year-old realised what her girlfriend was wearing. Or rather, what she wasn't wearing. She had on one of her trademark very expensive, long, floaty blouses over a tight black vest top. The way she was leaning over the table afforded the younger brunette a delicious view of her cleavage. Emily sincerely hoped that Serena hadn't had quite so many buttons undone at work as she did now. She also hoped that Serena had been wearing trousers while she'd been at the hospital. Eyeing her appearance appreciatively, Emily guessed that her girlfriend had shed her clothing in the few moments when she'd left the room.

"I'm assuming Jason's out?"

"Hmmm?" Serena looked at Emily with a faux-innocent expression on her face. "Why would you assume that, darling?"

"Because if Jason was coming home any time soon I doubt you'd practically be daring me to fuck you right here on the floor." The younger woman replied bluntly.

Serena feigned surprise, given away by the twitching of her lips into a smirk. "Would _I_ do _that_?"

"Yes." Emily replied simply, standing and walking Serena backwards until her legs banged into the sofa and she toppled onto it. "Yes, you really would, Ms Campbell."


	38. I Do

The build-up to the Osgood-Stewart wedding had been stressful to say the least. Osgood had very quickly decided that she didn't actually want to get married at Westminster Abbey, which was a huge relief to Kate. She would have called in all the favours she was owed, of course, if her fiancée really did want to get married there, but the older woman was much more comfortable with the country hotel they'd settled on instead.

They'd tried to keep it as small as possible; close friends and family only. That, somehow, had turned into over a hundred people. Kate had a sneaking suspicion that her daughter had something to do with the rapidly increasing guest list, but Emily had resolutely stuck to her story that it was purely Osgood's mother's fault. Kate did have to admit that there were a much larger proportion of her fiancée's friends and family invited than her own.

Kate had, however, put her foot down when it came to her outfit. Emily had begged, threatened and emotionally blackmailed her mother in an attempt to get her to wear a dress, but Kate had outright refused. She'd done the big, white wedding in a four thousand pound satin and lace dress once and there was no way she would be wearing anything as impractical again. Osgood, on the other hand, was uncharacteristically keen to wear a dress; announcing that if she was going to do it, then she was going to do it properly.

"Have you got the rings, Gordy?" Kate demanded, pacing the length of her son's hotel room. "Gordy? Gordon!"

"What?" He looked up from his phone, blinking at her in confusion.

"The rings? Have you got them?"

"Yes!" He huffed. "Same as I had them the last twelve times you asked."

"I was just checking." His mother muttered as his gaze dropped to the phone once more. "And you've got your speech for later?"

"Oh, no. Change of plan on that one." He told her, causing Kate to whirl around and fix him with wide, panicked eyes. "Em's doing it instead."

"What?" Kate went white. "No. Oh, no, no, no!"

"It'll be fine." Gordon shrugged. "She's a better speaker than me. I'll just get tongue-tied and look like a twat. Em'll be great."

"Yeah, but she'll probably make _me_ look like a twat and embarrass herself and the rest of us, too."

"Nooo… It'll be fine. She promised she'd be good."

"Really?"

"She even promised not to drink more than two glasses of wine. Well, two glasses of wine and the champagne for the toasts."

Kate looked mildly impressed. "Bloody hell."

"She meant it, too." Gordon told her. "Made Serena promise to cut her off if she didn't do it herself."

"Where is your oh-so-unpredictable sister, anyway?"

"The last time I saw her she was all over Serena."

"Excellent."

"She said she was on her way to see Os, though." Gordon continued. "I think we should get down there, Mum. It's almost show time. Don't want to keep Osgood waiting, do you?"

Shooting him a look, Kate nodded and took a deep breath. They left the room, Gordon carefully pocketing the key, making their way down to the lobby. Several guests were milling around the space before the ceremony, but Kate didn't want to make small talk. Instead she went towards the room where the wedding was going to take place and shook the hand of the registrar. Keeping her attention fully fixed on the woman who was going to be marrying them, Kate was aware that the room was filling up behind her and the butterflies in her stomach started to make themselves known.

* * *

"You look amazing." Emily said, her voice filled with sincerity and the slightest hint of awe.

Osgood frowned at her, unable to believe she was being completely sincere. "Don't be–"

"No, honestly, Os, I mean it." The twenty-one-year-old told her softly. "You look beautiful. Mum won't be able to believe her luck."

The brunette blushed. "Emily."

The younger woman shrugged, but didn't press the point. She could see how embarrassed her stepmother was and didn't want to make her any more uncomfortable. Osgood had gone for a simple dress, white satin with a hint of lace on the bodice. Her hair was down, for once, and lay in loose curls around her shoulders. As she stared at her reflection in the mirror, she chewed her lip and removed her glasses, thinking that they spoilt the effect.

Emily shook her head, reaching out and replacing them gently. Osgood didn't look like Osgood without them. "Leave them on, Os."

"But they–"

"They're perfect. _You're_ perfect."

"Ohh…" Osgood blinked in embarrassment for a moment, before realising something. She reached out and tugged on a strand of Emily's hair gently. "You dyed it back?"

"Mmm…" The young woman nodded. "Mum didn't say anything, but I know she wasn't looking forward to my blue hair in your wedding photos." Emily shrugged, self-conscious under Osgood's fond smile. "Now come on, you've got a wedding to get to."

Sending her a wink, the younger woman ushered Osgood through the door and down the staircase to the lobby. She steered her in the direction of the room where the ceremony was being held. Grasping Osgood by the arm, she pushed her gently towards her parents who were hanging around by the doors. Emily smirked as Ruth immediately began fussing over her daughter. Osgood stared at her helplessly, wanting protection from her mother.

Taking the opportunity while they were distracted, Emily pulled open one of the doors and looked inside. She smiled as her gaze fell on Kate and Gordon at the opposite end of the room. It seemed as though her brother was attempting to calm their mother down, but Kate didn't seem to be having any of it. She swatted his hands away from her, rolling her eyes.

"What's wrong with Louise?" Emily asked suddenly, peering around the room where the guests were sitting, chatting quietly and waiting for the ceremony to begin. Osgood's niece was sitting on the floor in the aisle with her head in her hands.

"She's upset she doesn't get to walk down the aisle." Osgood's mother told her. "She wanted to be like you."

"Really?" The young woman looked at Ruth in surprise. "Well, why not?"

Marching down the aisle, ignoring the curious looks that were being shot in her direction, Emily scooped the five-year-old off the floor. Balancing her on her hip, she strode back towards the double doors with the little girl, before placing her on the ground in the lobby.

"Nana said you wanted to walk in with me."

"Yeah." Louise sniffled.

"Then you're gonna walk in with me, puke-face, OK?"

"But Mum said that–"

"Doesn't matter. I'm bridesmaid and I say that you can. Right Os?"

"Well I can hardly say no now, can I?" The bride told her with a chuckle, reaching out and tugging on one of Louise's ringlets affectionately. "But of course you can, sweetheart."

Smiling brightly up at her, the little girl scrubbed at the tears on her cheeks and held out her hand for Emily to take. The older girl winked at her and squeezed the tiny hand in hers. Just as Ruth darted into the room to find her seat, the music Kate and Osgood had chosen started playing and the woman standing beside the double doors nodded at them.

Emily and Louise proceeded Osgood down the aisle. The little girl skipped excitedly beside her cousin, smiling at everyone who met her gaze. There were the expected 'ahh's at the sight of the beaming five-year-old, but Emily barely registered them. She was smiling at her mother, who was looking more nervous than she had ever seen her. Kate managed a weak smile at her daughter, before her gaze was drawn to something behind the girls and Emily guessed Osgood had entered.

Her gaze found Serena's and from the expression on her girlfriend's face she assumed that she approved of her outfit. Emily grinned to herself, dropping her gaze to the floor as she took her place at the front of the room and waited for the ceremony to begin.

* * *

The moment Kate and Osgood had been wary about was rapidly approaching. They'd successfully navigated the vows without _too_ many tears – apart from Osgood's mother who'd cried through the whole thing – and, as far as Kate could tell, Emily had been very restrained with her drinks.

Now, though, the twenty-one-year-old was climbing to her feet and clinking her knife against her glass. Kate and Osgood exchanged a wary look as Emily announced that it was time for the speeches. She handed over to Osgood's dad, who made a very emotional speech about his daughter that had Ruth in floods of tears again; her face buried in, a very embarrassed looking, Gordon's shoulder.

"Right, hello…" Emily smiled around at the guests. If Kate wasn't very much mistaken her daughter was suddenly nervous. "It's customary for the best man to make a speech but my brother decided to hand that honour over to me. I'm pretty sure that information caused a couple of blood pressure spikes." She glanced in her mother's direction. "I'm not going to take up too much of your time, because I know most of you are only here for the dancing." She paused as the guests laughed softly. "I've known my mother since I was born and I feel like I've known Osgood just as long. I don't think I've ever seen Mum as happy as she has been since she and Os got together. I like to think I had a big part in that, but I'm pretty sure they'd have worked it out – however slowly – on their own.

"I've put them through some stuff, Mum especially. From being expelled from school and then kicked out of university to my _many_ relationships, if you can even call them that… I've been a nightmare, really. But Mum and Osgood have been there for me and I will always be incredibly grateful. I love them both so much and they deserve all the happiness in the world. Also, they've given me an adorable baby brother and sister who I am looking forward to training to be just as delightful, chaotic and hilarious as I am.

She took a breath and then looked around at the assembled guests. "But seriously, if I can ever have even one tenth of the happiness and love they've got with each other then I'll consider myself lucky." She took another breath, raising her glass and finally looking at the couple beside her. "To Kate and Osgood."

As the guests echoed her words, Kate stood and moved to her side, pulling Emily out of her seat and throwing her arms around her. She hugged her tightly, her lips lingering on her daughter's cheek as she felt the younger woman's arms tightening impossibly around her waist.

"Thank you…" She murmured.

"I love you."

"I love you too." Kate told her. "We both do. Serena's lucky to have you."

"I know." Emily nodded, pulling away and smirking. "But don't be embarrassing, mother."

Laughing, Kate touched her cheek and returned to her seat. She took Osgood's hand as her new wife beamed at Emily, receiving a wink in return. It wasn't long before the guests were milling around the bar and the garden area adjoining the ballroom while the staff set up for the party. Kate watched her daughter shaking her head at the waitress offering her another glass of wine and smiled fondly.

It wasn't long before the disco was in full swing. Kate looked around the ballroom feeling as though she couldn't possibly be any happier. Her smile widened as she saw Osgood dancing with her father in the middle of the room, the smile turning into a chuckle as she watched Gordon twirling her new mother-in-law enthusiastically and a faintly panicked expression twisting Ruth's face. At one of the tables at the side of the room Serena and Emily were sitting, apparently, on one chair. Her daughter seemed to be attempting to persuade Serena to dance, but the older woman kept raising her glass of wine meaningfully.

Osgood left her father, pressing a kiss to his cheek, making her way towards her wife. She beamed at the thought that Kate was her wife, wrapping her arms around the blonde's neck and pressing her lips against hers. Kate chuckled, kissing her back for a couple of moments before pulling away to look at her.

"Happy?"

"Delirious." Osgood replied, kissing her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided that Osgood would walk down the aisle to Blown Away by Heather Peace. It came on when I was driving one day and I was like YES. If you don't know it, go and give it a listen!


	39. Netflix and Chill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This started off as a one-shot... possibly three-shot at most. Now we're here, chapter 39, combining 2 worlds and I can't stop!
> 
> Thank you for sticking with this and leaving such encouraging comments - I should have said it before now, I'm sorry!
> 
> Anyway, I hope you continue to enjoy!
> 
> x

Osgood smiled, reaching out and running her hand lightly over Kate's bare shoulder. She was so beautiful the brunette's heart ached when she looked at her, golden hair fanning out over the pillow. She was painfully beautiful even if she _was_ snoring softly, something Kate vehemently denied every time Osgood mentioned it. The brunette couldn't quite believe how her life was turning out; married to the woman of her dreams and mother to two tiny, helpless, perfect children. Osgood would never have imagined that this was what life had in store for her when she was younger. Watching Kate sleep, she couldn't resist bowing her head and pressing several slow, open-mouthed kisses to the flesh in front of her.

Kate sighed deeply, blinking a couple of times before looking at her new wife, an identical smile blossoming across her features as she realised who'd just woken her up and how. She, for her part, couldn't get her head around the idea that Osgood – wonderful, brilliant, awkward Osgood – was actually _her_ wife. That Osgood had chosen _her_ out of everyone in the world. In any world.

Rolling onto her back, Kate reached out for Osgood, pulling her into her arms. She pressed kisses into the dark hair under her nose as her wife rested her head on Kate's chest, draping one arm over her stomach lazily. Running her fingers through Osgood's hair, the older woman let her eyes drift close again.

"I feel like we're wasting our wedding night." She murmured sleepily.

"Wasting?" Osgood chuckled. "This is the first night we've had without the twins. Sleeping is _not_ wasting anything."

Kate laughed softly at her firm words. "Even if there are other, more _interesting_ , things we could be doing?"

Osgood raised her head and looked at her. "What did you have in mind?"

"Netflix?"

Letting out a long groan, the younger woman shuffled slightly so that she was resting against the pillows beside her wife and motioned regally towards the television. Still laughing, Kate reached across and picked up the remote from the bedside table and switched on the TV.

"So… it appears that this very expensive hotel suite doesn't come with Netflix." Kate admitted after a couple of moments scrolling through the television's menus.

"After you got me all excited." Osgood huffed. Then she sent her wife a crooked grin. "You'll just have to find another way to entertain me, then."

"Will I now?"

"Mmmhmm…"

Kate was about to move over Osgood, when the brunette beat her to it. She hovered above her wife, resting her weight on her elbows as she stared down at her. Kate squirmed slightly under the gaze from the dark eyes she knew so well, filled with love and adoration and not the smallest amount of lust. Kate reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind Osgood's ear and resting her hand on the younger woman's cheek.

"I love you."

Ducking her head, Osgood kissed Kate softly, capturing her bottom lip between her teeth as she pulled away. The blonde groaned, reaching up to kiss her again. Slipping her hands under the hem of Osgood's t-shirt, she pulled it up over her head. They parted long enough to rid the brunette of the garment before their lips were attached again and they were kissing as though their lives depended on it.

It never got old, the feeling of flesh against flesh; fingers ghosting over shoulders, breasts, hips, legs. Kate thought that she would never get used to the spark of electricity that went through her every time she touched the younger woman. It wasn't long before they were both completely devoid of clothes, relishing the feeling of skin on skin.

Pressing kisses to the valley between her breasts, Osgood made her way down Kate's body, stopping to lavish each inch of skin she passed with attention before she reached her goal. The sounds that Kate made – half-sighs, murmurs of encouragement, moans – were enough to fuel Osgood's own desire. Kate was always very vocal in her praise and, apparently, their current situation was only causing an increase in the volume of that praise.

Osgood considered it a job very well done when Kate collapsed against the rumpled sheets, hoarse from crying her wife's name. Kissing her way back up the blonde's body, Osgood barely had time to kiss her properly, before Kate was flipping them over, a predatory gleam in her eyes.

A long while later they lay flushed and sweaty in a tangle of limbs. Pulling the blonde into her arms, Osgood let her eyes slip closed as Kate nuzzled her nose into the crook of the brunette's neck, inhaling her familiar scent. Kate thought that she would recognise her wife's unique smell anywhere and in any situation. It made her feel safer and more at home than anything else ever had.

"That was so much better than Netflix." Osgood sighed, stifling a yawn and sleepily running her fingers through Kate's hair.


	40. Sibling Saturday

"Em!"

Emily pulled a face, rolling over and pretending she hadn't heard her brother shouting. Her bed was far too warm and comfortable to get up and go and see what Gordon wanted. It was too cold outside of the duvet and Gordon was a big boy; there was no reason why he couldn't deal with whatever it was on his own.

"Emily!"

She ignored him again, pulling her pillow over her head and huffing lightly. Her mother and Osgood had gone off for the day; their first outing since the twins had been born five months previously. They'd, rather nervously, left their older children in charge of the babies, with orders to phone them if anything happened, however small.

"Emily!"

With a loud huff, she rolled out of bed. Shivering as the temperature difference hit her, Emily padded out of her bedroom and down the stairs towards the living room. She snorted at the sight that greeted her; Gordon was standing in the middle of the room – which looked like a mothercare lorry had crashed into it – with both twins in his arms, wailing at the top of their lungs. He looked at her with wide, panicked eyes as she entered.

"What are you doing?"

"They just won't stop!" He told her. "Help me!"

"What d'you think I can do about it?" She asked with a shrug.

"I don't know… just… something!"

Rolling her eyes, Emily went into the kitchen and flicked the switch on the kettle, completely ignoring Gordon's pleas for help. She waited for it to boil, switching on the bottle warmer and taking two pre-prepared bottles out of the fridge. By the time she'd made herself a coffee, the bottles were warmed and ready and she returned to the living room.

"They're probably hungry." She informed him, putting down her coffee and one of the bottles. Hooking Alice out of his arm, she popped the cap off the bottle in her hand and pushed it into her sister's mouth. Immediately the baby stopped crying and started drinking enthusiastically. "See."

Sighing with relief, Gordon grabbed the other bottle and started feeding Henry who also immediately quietened down. Shooting him a smug look, Emily dropped onto the sofa and closed her eyes. She had almost fallen back to sleep when Alice snuffled and wiggled in her arms. Opening one eye, Emily half-heartedly frowned at her.

"You're just a massive pain in my ass, aren't you?" She muttered, throwing a square of muslin over her shoulder and burping her sister quickly.

"So, what's the plan?"

Emily looked at her brother. "Plan?"

"Well… what are we doing with the munchkins?"

"They're five months old, Gor… there's no point doing anything with them. They won't remember."

"Drink your coffee." He ordered her with a smirk.

Settling herself back on the sofa with Alice on her lap, Emily took a sip of her coffee. Pulling a face as she swallowed the now lukewarm liquid, she looked across at Gordon who was placing Henry gently on the play mat. He settled himself beside their brother, making faces at him and flicking the toys on the bar above him and making them swing. Henry giggled at the movement, reaching up to try and bat at them himself.

"You're good with them." Emily told her older brother grudgingly.

"Thanks." Gordon looked a little surprised at the compliment.

"Any chance of you and Lorna–"

"Woah!" Gordon blinked at her. "It's a bit soon for all of that."

His sister laughed. "Well, I've got a step-daughter who's four years older than me, so…"

He joined in with her laughter, rolling his eyes at her. "How are things with you and Serena?"

Emily looked at him incredulously. "Eh?"

"Well, you know… it's my job to look out for you, isn't it? Make sure Serena's treating you–"

"OK, bit weird, Gordy." She replied, pulling another face. "Since when have you been interested in making sure my girlfriends are kosher?"

"Since you got one I actually approve of."

Emily laughed, making Alice jump. "Sorry, munchkin. You _approve_ of Serena, do you? Well that's a relief."

"You know what I mean." Gordon was starting to get embarrassed, turning to look at Henry instead of Emily. "I like Serena… she's good for you. I just think she'll look after you, that's all."

"Thanks…"

A couple of minutes passed in silence, both Gordon and Emily focusing on the baby closest to them. Emily stood Alice on her thighs, letting her bounce on the balls of her feet. She smiled as the little girl laughed, reaching out with her hands to try and grab her older sister's hair.

"So… what d'you say I go and get dressed and then we take these little munchkins out for a walk?" Emily suggested finally, glancing over at her older brother.

"I thought you said it was pointless?"

She rolled her eyes. "Fresh air will do them good."

"It's the middle of January."

"Obviously we'll wrap them up nice and warm."

"Go on then." Gordon agreed with a smirk. "Hurry up before we run out of daylight."

Putting Alice on the play mat beside Henry, Emily narrowed her eyes at Gordon. She ruffled his hair before heading upstairs to get ready for their outing to the park.


	41. Always the Bad Guy

Osgood sighed, placing the file she'd been compiling on the surface of her workbench and wrinkling her nose. She'd been back at work for three days and honestly hadn't thought that she would miss being on maternity leave so much. Pulling out her mobile, she thought about calling the child-minder she and Kate had hired to look after their twins while they – and everyone else related to them – were at work. Shaking her head lightly, she dropped her phone back into the pocket of her lab coat and returned her attention to the flasks of chemicals in front of her.

"Oh, hey, Os…" Emily burst into the lab breathlessly, looking around for her stepmother. "I need a huge favour."

"What's happened?" Osgood asked, immediately fearing the worst. "What have you broken?"

"Nothing!" The younger woman pouted. "I've just had a really weird call from Serena; something about an argument with Elinor and a car and Jason. I don't know. I just feel like I should get over to the hospital and see what's happening."

"Can't it wait?" Osgood asked gently. "I mean it's probably just…"

"I know I'm on thin ice." Emily sighed. "I can't believe Cleaverly grassed on me."

"You were taking home highly classified information, Em."

"Yeah, to learn it so that I could be Osgood 2.0 where information on the Doctor was concerned. It's not like I was selling info on the black market or something."

Osgood sighed. "Your mum had no choice, Em, she had to tell–"

"Yeah, yeah… they'll give me a warning, slap my wrist, tell me I've been naughty, whatever." Emily shrugged. "I have a really bad feeling, Os. I need you to cover for me so I can go and see if Serena's OK. Just say I'm in the archives or something."

"I think you need to take this more seriously, Emily." Osgood tried, but her stepdaughter clearly wasn't listening. "Fine! If anyone asks I'll say you told me you were going to the archives."

"It's not a lie." Emily reasoned.

"If Kate asks–"

"You'll tell her where I am." The younger woman guessed. "Fine, deal."

"I won't lie to her, Em."

"Fair enough. I wouldn't expect you to. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Osgood watched as the younger woman hurried out of the lab, before sighing deeply and hoping that Kate didn't turn up looking for her wayward daughter before Emily came back. The scientist knew that her stepdaughter wasn't taking the situation seriously and Kate was deeply concerned that she wouldn't be able to save her daughter's job.

She carried on with what she'd been doing before the interruption for a while. Triumphantly, she finally managed to identify the compounds in the liquid in front of her and began compiling a report on the possible uses of the chemical.

Completely distracted by her work, Osgood didn't notice her wife entering the laboratory until Kate was standing behind her, her arms wrapped around the brunette's waist and her lips pressing against her neck. Osgood let out a hum of contentment, turning in Kate's arms and nuzzling their noses together.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" She asked after a moment.

"I'm not feeling very pleasant at the moment, I assure you." Kate sighed.

Osgood furrowed her eyebrows, trying to read the blonde's expression. "Ooh… have you spoken to the Defence Minister?"

"Mmm… she's demanding I fire Emily."

"What?" Osgood's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"I tried to argue for a suspension instead, but she wasn't having it. Apparently the fact that she's my daughter only made her more determined that she lost her job." Kate said with a sigh. "I can't believe I have to fire my own daughter. I can't believe she was stupid enough to take those files home."

"I can't believe she was stupid enough to get caught." Osgood added. "But she was only trying to learn more."

"Why does she have to be so idiotic?" Kate demanded angrily. She was furious about the situation, particularly that she had been put in it in the first place. "I thought she really, really wanted this job."

Her wife nodded vehemently. "She does. She wants it so much that she wanted to be the best. She wanted to know everything. That's why she took those files home."

"Why does no one ever tell you how hard having children is? You think that as soon as you manage to get them to adulthood it'll get easier. They've survived that far; what else could happen?"

"Kate… you're acting like she's done something terrible. She hasn't. In the grand scheme of things it's fine." Osgood reminded her. "It'll blow over."

"I've still got to tell her she's fired." Kate sighed with a pained expression on her face. "I don't suppose you know where she is, do you?"

Osgood's eyes widened. "Errr…"

Kate narrowed her own eyes, realising immediately that, not only did Osgood know where her daughter was, but that Emily was either not where she was supposed to be or doing something that she shouldn't. "Os?"

"She's gone to see Serena." The brunette blurted out. "Something's wrong… she mentioned Elinor and Jason and a car?"

"Wonderful." Kate huffed. "So not only has she taken classified information home, she's also gone AWOL."

"In her defence she did seem incredibly worried. She wouldn't have just left if there was no reason."

"Did she ask you not to tell me?"

"Technically she asked me not to tell _anyone_."

"That girl…"

Clenching her jaw, Kate pressed a quick kiss to her wife's lips before hurrying back to her office. She would just have to find something else to occupy her time and explain why she hadn't followed the Defence Minister's orders and fired Emily as soon as she'd returned to the Tower. Although, Kate reasoned, perhaps the extra time would give her the opportunity to find a way around her orders and keep her daughter on UNIT's payroll.


	42. Nineteen Months

It was late when Serena finally arrived home on a day that her girlfriend had been expecting her by teatime. Emily was already in bed when she heard the front door close, sitting up against the pillows and folding her arms irritably over her chest. Hearing the sound of Serena's footsteps on the stairs, Emily prepared to give her an earful about how late she was and the spoilt dinner waiting downstairs that she had spent hours preparing.

When the bedroom door opened, however Emily took one look at her girlfriend and knew something was wrong. She was out of bed at once, standing behind her girlfriend who had dropped onto the stool in front of the dressing table mirror and was removing her makeup tiredly.

"You look stressed, babe? Tough shift?"

Running her hands over Serena's shoulders Emily sank her fingers into the flesh, attempting to rid her of the knots that were obviously caused by the tension she felt. Letting out a hiss of pain, Serena flinched away from the feeling of Emily's hands on her. Wide-eyed, the younger woman attempted to meet her eyes, but failed when Serena looked down at her hands.

"What…? Serena? What is that?" Emily demanded, catching sight of an angry-looking purple bruise poking up beyond the clothing on her girlfriend's back.

Gently, she pulled Serena to her feet and then pushed the silk blouse off her shoulders. She slid her hands up inside the black vest top, guiding it over Serena's head and leaving her back fully exposed. The bruise extended from the very centre of Serena's back to her left shoulder blade. Below it, across her right hip, were several smaller bruises and there were also bruises on both the older woman's arms.

Turning her round to face her, Emily was horrified to see tears in Serena's eyes as she looked everywhere but at her girlfriend.

"Serena…"

"It's nothing." The older woman said quietly. "It was an accident."

"Sweetheart, this is more than an accident. What happened?"

"A patient got a little… agitated."

"Agitated?" Emily shook her head, tracing her fingers lightly over the bruises at Serena's hip. "How…? Where was Fletch? Raf?"

"It wasn't their fault." Serena assured her, turning and capturing the younger woman's hands in her own. Now that she had turned, Emily could see more bruising across her stomach. "It was my own damn stupid fault. I shouldn't have gone into that room alone, but it was one of those shifts and there was so much going on. I just didn't think."

"Babe… did…?"

Serena shook her head vehemently, knowing what Emily wanted to ask, but didn't know how. "He just felt the need to use me as a punching bag."

"That's…"

"A relief." Serena finished the sentence with a nod. She smiled weakly at the look she received. "It's better than the possible alternatives."

"I hope they dealt with him."

"He was ill. He had a psych referral so–"

"Right, so he got away with it." Emily muttered furiously. "That's not right, Serena. He should be punished for this. He assaulted you!"

"I'm a big girl, Em. I'll survive."

There was a pause. Emily pulled Serena gently towards her by her hips, wrapping the older woman in a gentle embrace, wary of pressing too hard against her bruises. Squeezing her eyes closed, Serena nuzzled her face into the crook of her girlfriend's neck, relishing the feeling of Emily's hair tickling her nose. For a couple of moments that evening she had been genuinely scared that she would never get to hold her again.

Unable to help herself, she let out a sob. Emily tightened her grip, rubbing a soothing circle on her back and Serena felt the dam inside her break. She let the tears fall freely into Emily's shoulder, barely hearing the calming nonsense the younger woman was whispering to her. She concentrated on the strong arms holding her and the love she felt radiating off her girlfriend and, eventually, the stream of tears subsided.

"You might be the doctor, but I'm prescribing something to alleviate the effects of this one." Emily told her with a soft smile once Serena was calmer, directing her towards the en-suite. "Bath and a bottle of Shiraz."

Catching sight of the bottle and two glasses that were already sitting on the side of the bath, the older woman turned wide eyes on her girlfriend. "How did you…?"

"To be honest, I was planning this anyway, because it's our nineteen month anniversary, babe. There was going to be dinner too, but it doesn't matter now."

"Is it?" Serena blinked in bemusement. "Nineteen months? Is that something people normally celebrate?"

"No, but… we missed the year anniversary because I was in hospital and then the twins were born." Emily shrugged. "I've never had an anniversary before… barely made it to _one_ month, in fact. I was gonna do something for our eighteen month anniversary instead, but then… well, you were tied up with some report or proposal or something for Hanssen and I… well, I was a little bit freaked out to be honest. I mean… eighteen months? That's big, babe!"

Serena looked at her for a moment, before pulling her into a tight embrace, ignoring the pain it caused her recent injuries. "Happy nineteen month anniversary, my love."

* * *

Hours later they lay breathlessly in bed, the sheet pulled loosely over them and their fingers laced together between them. Emily lifted their joined hands for a moment, her eyes seemingly magnetically drawn to the slight indent on Serena's left ring finger. She had long ago discarded the engagement ring and wedding band, but the mark was still visible on her finger.

"Would you ever get married again?" Emily asked softly, turning her gaze to fix firmly on the ceiling. "To me… maybe?"

There was a long pause and then Serena turned on her side. Her eyes wandered over her girlfriend's profile, furrowing her eyebrows as Emily resolutely avoided meeting her eyes. "Was that your way of asking me to marry you?"

"Well, you know what they say… if you like it, then you should have put a ring on it."

"Hang on, _are_ you proposing?"

"I'm proposing proposing." Emily said quietly, turning and meeting Serena's eyes warily. "Sometime… soon, maybe?"

"Em…"

Rolling away again, the younger woman fixed her gaze back on the lampshade. "It was just a thought…"

"Sweetheart, you're so young."

"How old were you when you married Edward?" Emily challenged her with a frown.

" _Too_ young." Serena told her firmly. "And that turned out so well for me."

"I'm not like him."

"No, my darling, you're not." She agreed gently, placing a finger under Emily's chin and turning her head so that their eyes met. "But what happens when, five years from now, you wake up and realise you've done the wrong thing? When you wake up one morning and realise you're in your mid-twenties, married to a woman who's nearer retirement than her thirtieth birthday? When you realise that your marriage to me prevents you from having a similar life to the ones your peers are living? Stops you having children?"

"So, basically, you don't trust me."

"What?"

Emily sat up quickly, not caring that the sheet had fallen around her waist and left her exposed to the cool air. "You don't trust me and how I feel about you. You think that this is just… what? Some kind of experiment? An attempt at having something normal… something real?"

"No." Serena shook her head, refusing to rise to the bait. She pulled Emily back down, hugging her against her side and carding her fingers through the mop of dark hair that was tickling her chest. "You _know_ that's not what I think at all. I know you love me and I know this is what you want… at the moment. I'm just saying that you need to consider the things you'll miss out on if you marry me."

"I don't care. I know what I want. I want you."

"OK… so we stay as we are." Serena suggested gently, brushing her lips against Emily's forehead. "When we make it to our five year anniversary then we can re-evaluate."

"Two year." Emily countered.

"Four year."

"Three year."

"Done." Serena agreed with a chuckle.

Emily propped herself up on one elbow and looked down at her girlfriend. The older woman bit her lip thinking, not for the first time, how beautiful she was when she was devoid of make up and completely unguarded. Serena waited for Emily to make the next move, feeling slightly exposed under the searching gaze.

"Seventeen months."

"Hmm?"

"It's seventeen months until our three year anniversary." Emily told her seriously. "I _am_ going to ask you to marry me and you _are_ going to say yes."

Serena snorted. "Am I, indeed?"

"Yep." Her girlfriend agreed with a grin. Serena was relieved that the crisis seemed to have been averted. "Because you think I'm hot."

"I do think you're hot." She agreed with a soft laugh, her grin widening as Emily moved to straddle her hips.

"Excellent." Emily caught her hands and pinned them above her head. She ran her tongue around the shell of Serena's ear, before nipping the lobe and whispering to her. "So in seventeen months I am going to propose and you're going to say yes, aren't you?"

Serena's breath hitched as the younger woman kissed her way down her chest, trailing a hand down her body to where Serena needed her most. "Yes. Oh god, yes."


	43. Complications and Consequences

"No."

"But, Jase–"

"No."

"What if I–?"

"No!"

Emily huffed irritably, pushing the book away from her and folding her arms. "This is stupid and boring. You said it would be fun."

"Actually, Sudoku is one of the most popular puzzle games of all time." Jason informed her, picking up the book and turning it over so he could see the partially completed grid. "It's based on the logical placement of numbers."

"I'm crap at maths."

"That doesn't matter. All you need is a brain and good concentration."

"Apparently I don't have a brain…" Emily muttered, remembering the conversation she'd had with her mother a week or so previously when Kate had fired her.

Jason frowned at her. "Of course you have a brain. Everyone has a brain. Your brain is responsible for all of your body's functions. Without it–"

"Yes, OK." She sighed. "I obviously _have_ a brain. I just meant… never mind."

With a shrug Jason turned his attention to the puzzle, tutting at the mess Emily had made of it. She, in turn, huffed as she watched him erasing the numbers she'd written. Leaning back in her chair, Emily lifted her legs and rested them on Jason's hospital bed, picking up the book he had discarded earlier when she'd arrived with the new Sudoku book for him.

"How's Aunty Serena?" Jason asked suddenly.

"Hmm?"

"Aunty Serena?" He repeated. "I haven't seen her for a while."

Emily looked at him under her fringe. "Yeah… she's been a bit busy arranging Elinor's funeral."

Jason considered her for a moment. "Is she angry with me?"

"What?" Emily frowned. "No, of course not, Jason. Why would Serena be angry with you?"

"Because I pushed her out of the way of the car. Elinor hit her head on the steering wheel when she crashed into me. That's why she died, isn't it?"

"No, sweetheart." Emily assured him gently, moving to sit on the bed and squeezing his hand. "Elinor died because of medical complications. She'd taken something and it just… it just wasn't because of you, OK? Hey! You probably saved Serena's life. You're a hero as far as I'm concerned. I owe you big time for keeping her safe."

"I think I'm going to be too ill to go to the funeral."

"Probably, yeah."

"Will you take some flowers for me… for Ellie's grave?"

"Of course I will." Emily promised, squeezing his hand again. Then she sighed. "I'm really sorry, Jason."

"What for? You weren't even there. You were at work when we had the accident." He reminded her with a frown.

"Yeah, I know that." She agreed. "But… I'm guessing the argument Serena and Elinor were having was because of me?"

Jason nodded. "But I think Ellie was wrong. Aunty Serena loves you and you love her. You make her happy, so why shouldn't she be with you?"

"I…"

"And I think Aunty Serena needs you more than ever now." He continued. "Why hasn't she been to see me for eight days?"

Emily shrugged, not meeting his eyes. "She's been busy, sweetheart. She asks me how you are and to give you her love every time I come in. She's been getting updates from Sacha and Dom, too. I'm sure she'll come and see you as soon as she can."

Emily didn't want to admit that Serena had barely spoken to her over the last week and when she had spoken to her it had only been cruel words and barbed comments that passed her lips. That she was pushing everyone away and burying herself in her work in an attempt to deal with the grief of losing her daughter. That every time Emily attempted to comfort or reassure her, Serena had told her that she didn't want her pity and knowing that Emily loved her didn't make her feel any better.

The young woman didn't know what to do to help her girlfriend. She had barely spoken to her mother or Osgood over the last few days; partially because she was angry with her mother for firing her and partially because she was embarrassed about it. Gordon had attempted to speak to her, but as soon as the conversation turned round to her sudden unemployment she had made excuses and ended the call. Emily didn't know what to do for the best at the moment and so resorted to staying strong, at least for Jason's sake.

Asking if there was anything he wanted, Emily escaped the room for a couple of moments. Outside, she leant against the wall for a moment to catch her breath, before straightening and heading in the direction of the corridor and the vending machines. She didn't get far, however, as Fletch appeared and sidled up to her, grinning.

"Any chance you can watch the kids for me tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, sure."

He looked at her oddly. "Simple as that?"

"Yeah?" Emily shrugged. "Why?"

"I just meant… well… Serena?"

"She probably won't even notice I'm not there."

"Things tough?"

"A bit, yeah." Emily sighed and then shrugged, not wanting to get into it. She guessed that Serena would be less than thrilled if she thought her girlfriend was discussing their private life with her colleagues. "Anyway, I'll come round at six?"

"Perfect. You're a life saver." Fletch informed her gratefully, before rushing off in Jasmine's direction.

Collecting her coke from the vending machine, Emily hung around in the corridor for a while. She needed a break from Jason and the myriad of questions and his unwavering expectation that everything was OK. She knew Serena was grieving and everyone dealt with that in their own way, but she didn't know what to do to help her. Everything she'd tried so far seemed to have just annoyed Serena or pushed her even further away.

"When you come in to see me tomorrow, I'd like you to bring–"

"Oh…" Emily looked apologetically at Jason as she entered his room. "I can't come tomorrow evening, sweetie. I'm babysitting the Fletchlings."

"But I need the next book in my series. I've almost finished this one and what will I read if I finish it before I have the next one here?" He asked seriously, regarding her with a frown.

"I'll try my best." She promised. "I'll try and drop it in earlier or I'll ask Serena to bring it."

"I'd like to see Aunty Serena." Jason nodded.

"I'll see what I can do, OK?"

They chatted about various things until Emily decided that it was time for her to leave. Jason nodded in agreement, informing her that his dinner would be there soon anyway. Laughing softly, she ruffled his hair before leaving the room. Leaning in the doorway of Serena's office, she waited for her girlfriend to gather her things, barely meeting Emily's eyes as she did so, before they headed home.

"Fletch asked me to babysit the kids tomorrow."

Serena barely looked up from the paperwork she'd spread across the kitchen table. "Right."

"That's OK, isn't it? I mean… we didn't have plans, did we?" Emily checked.

"No. It's fine."

"Jason was asking about you again."

"Right."

"He was hoping you'd go and see him tomorrow. He asked if you could take in the next book in the series he's reading." Emily continued, hoping to get some sort of response in the form of a sentence longer than a couple of words.

"Fine."

"So you'll take it to him?"

"Yes, alright?"

"Serena…" Putting her hands on her girlfriend's shoulders, the young woman's face fell as she felt Serena stiffen at her touch. "Please…"

"I… I have work to do." She replied in a dull tone.

Emily sighed, squeezing Serena's upper arms gently. "Right, well… I think I'm gonna go and watch TV in bed. I'll see you in a bit?"

"Maybe. I… I do have rather a lot of…"

Nodding, her girlfriend read between the lines and knew that Serena would probably not be joining her that night. She'd taken to sleeping in Elinor's room, rather than in her own bed, in an attempt to be close to her daughter. The morning Emily, worried about where her girlfriend could have got to, discovered that fact, Serena had snapped and shouted at her until the younger woman had retreated to the café around the corner from the house and not gone home until she was sure Serena had left for the hospital.

"OK, just… please don't push me away, Serena." Emily requested softly. "I know I'm not the person you want around at the moment, but I _am_ here. For… whatever you want. I'm here."

"I know."

Serena's reply was so quiet that Emily almost missed it, but not quite. Smiling softly, she closed her eyes and pressed a lingering kiss to the top of Serena's head, squeezing her shoulders once more before leaving the room and heading upstairs.


	44. Best Intentions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you so much for your lovely comments! I am currently so busy and tired that I would like nothing more than to hibernate for a month.
> 
> Failing that, I'd like you to enjoy this chapter!
> 
> x

Emily had finally persuaded Serena to let her take her out for dinner. Jason was home and happy to be out of hospital and back to normal. He had even gone back to work at the hospital, overjoyed to be back doing what he relished. Serena had been worried about how he'd cope, although Emily secretly thought her girlfriend was more concerned about how everyone else would react to him.

The older woman had been reluctant to go out, claiming she had work to do. Emily hadn't let it go, however, so Serena finally gave in and got dressed up. The younger woman had been delighted and took them to her girlfriend's favourite restaurant, sweet-talking her way into one of the best tables in the building.

"Don't be so ridiculous. She probably thinks I'm your mother." Serena muttered, rolling her eyes at her girlfriend.

"I'm telling you, Rena, she is _totally_ flirting with you, whatever she thinks about our relationship."

"You're mad."

Emily laughed. "I'll prove it, then."

Serena furrowed her eyebrows. "How?"

"I'll ask her."

"What? No! Don't ask her. Don't you dare, Emily!"

Winking, the younger woman stood up and walked away, weaving through the tables with an added sway in her hips, simply because she knew Serena was watching her. Her girlfriend watched curiously as the two women talked for a moment at the bar, before they turned and looked in her direction. Feeling her cheeks flushing, Serena snatched up her glass of wine and took, what she hoped was, a casual sip. Her gaze stayed firmly locked on her hand resting the surface of the table until Emily dropped back down in her seat with a triumphant grin firmly in place on her face.

"Her name's Anna, she's thirty-one and she thinks you're a MILF. She wants you to call her."

"What?" Serena stared at her in complete mortification before looking down at the napkin in front of her with a hastily scribbled mobile number written on it. "Why would you do that?"

Emily shrugged and leant back in her seat, running a finger around the rim of her glass. "Because. I wanted to prove that–"

"I'm so embarrassed. I can't believe you did that."

"Are you… are you angry with me?"

Serena attracted the attention of a passing waiter and asked for the bill before answering the question. "Yes, actually, I am. I said I didn't want you to do that and you did it anyway."

"But I just…" Emily blinked at her, trailing off as the waiter appeared at their table with a card machine and looked between them. As Serena reached for her purse, the younger woman shook her head. "Dinner's on me."

"Don't be ridiculous." Her girlfriend snapped, waving a hand dismissively. "I can afford this, you can't."

"Wow, thanks…"

"It's true, isn't it?" Serena asked harshly as the waiter scuttled away, clearly not wanting to get involved in whatever was going on. "It's not like you've got a job anymore."

Grabbing her jacket and following the older woman through the tables towards the exit, Emily scowled. "That's not my fault."

"No? So you didn't deliberately disobey orders more than once, get yourself blown up and then steal confidential files?"

"I didn't steal them." Emily defended herself irritably. "I was working at home; I always planned to return them. She didn't have to sack me for it."

Serena made a sound of disbelief, shaking her head and holding out a hand to hail a taxi. "What did you expect her to do? She couldn't let you off just because you're her daughter! You need to grow up, Emily."

"What?"

"You've got to start taking things seriously!" The older woman snapped.

"I do take things seriously." Emily argued, yanking open the door of the taxi and sliding inside. She waited for Serena to give their address before speaking again, albeit in a slightly quieter voice. "I'm sorry you didn't approve of me asking that waitress if she thought you were hot, but–"

"You basically pimped me out to a complete stranger!" Serena shouted. They both paused as the taxi driver caught their eyes in the rear view mirror.

"Sorry, can we help you?" Emily asked him angrily. He immediately turned his gaze away and she rounded on her girlfriend. "I did no such thing! I never said that you–"

"You asked for her number on my behalf! Who does that? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I just…"

"Thought you'd have a laugh at my expense?"

"No!" Emily shook her head vehemently. "Of course not! I was just trying to cheer you up. I wouldn't do that."

"Really, because it sounds to me _very much_ like something you would do. Everything is done for your amusement, isn't it, Emily?"

"I know you're still grieving Elinor." Her girlfriend replied softly. "I don't mind if you want to vent at me, but please stop taking it out on me. I can't bring her back. I would if I could… if there was any way…"

"You don't know how I feel." Serena spat. "You haven't got children. You possibly never will, which is _undoubtedly_ for the best."

Without realising it, they had arrived at home. The taxi driver cleared his throat to alert them to the fact they'd stopped, glancing warily at them in the mirror once more. Huffing furiously, Emily threw open the door and stormed up the steps, fitting her key into the lock and disappearing inside. Irritably, Serena hunted in her purse for money to pay the driver, thrusting several notes in his direction and muttering that he could keep the change.

"I know it's not my place, love," he started as Serena was halfway out, "but I don't think your daughter meant any harm. It sounds like she was trying to help."

Serena clenched her jaw. "You're right; it's not your place. Oh, by the way, she's my girlfriend, _not_ my daughter."

Slamming the car door shut behind her, Serena stamped into the house, flinging her keys onto the hallstand and striding into the living room. She glared furiously at Emily, who was standing in the middle of the room with her hands on her hips. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Serena replied the taxi driver's words in her mind, adding them to the waitress' assumption in the restaurant.

"I think you should go and stay with Kate and Osgood."

Emily's mouth dropped open. "What?"

"I don't want you here." Serena told her bluntly. "I've had enough. I'm not your mother, I'm not the butt of your jokes, I'm not running a bloody charity!"

"Serena…"

"I've got my own daught– I don't want you here."

"Babe, even if I was willing to leave you, which I'm not, I can't go to Mum's."

"Go to your father's then. I don't care."

Emily frowned, taking a step towards her. To her horror, Serena flinched and stepped backwards. "Serena…"

"Get. Out. Of. My. House."

Not seeing that she had much choice, the younger woman nodded slowly, tears filling her eyes as Serena turned away. Hesitating for a moment, hoping that her girlfriend would change her mind, Emily felt her heart clenching as she realised that there was little chance of that. She didn't understand how things had deteriorated quite so quickly.

Standing on the doorstep, it suddenly occurred to Emily that she had nothing useful with her. Her phone was in her jacket pocket, along with her purse and keys, which was in a crumpled heap on the sofa. She guessed that there was no point attempting to knock on the door or ring the bell, because Serena would almost definitely completely ignore her.

Putting her head in her hands for a moment, she tried to come up with a plan of action. There was no way in hell she was going to her father's house; she could just imagine the expression on his face if she turned up and had to tell him that Serena had kicked her out. Similarly, Gordon would have a field day with that information and then, most likely, attempt to counsel her on exactly where she'd failed. Her mother wasn't speaking to her and she and Osgood were up to their elbows in dirty nappies as it was.

The only person she could think of going to, who wouldn't judge her, was Bucket. She winced, knowing that running to his flat constituted the behaviour Serena had accused her of; her childish tendencies were only heightened whenever she was around him. Staring up at Serena's house it didn't seem like she had much of a choice and, as the light went off in their bedroom, she turned and started trudging along the road.

* * *

"What the fuck, man?" Emily groaned as her sleep was suddenly interrupted by bright light. She rolled over, wincing at the feel of the hard, lumpy sofa cushions underneath her, blinking at the man standing beside the window. "Bucket? What time is it?"

"Half seven." He replied, smacking her with a cushion. "Wake up, Stewie."

"Half seven? What the hell?"

"I've got to get to work."

At that piece of information, Emily sat up and gaped at him. "Work?"

"Yeah… how d'you think I pay the rent on this place?" Bucket asked, taking a swig from a cup of coffee.

"I thought…"

"You thought my old man was still bankrolling me?" He guessed, grinning at her. "Nah, Algie shut up the bank of dad as soon as I graduated… decided it was time I stood on my own two feet."

"So what do you… do?"

"I'm a financial associate for a pharmaceutical company." Bucket explained. "Might as well put that economics degree to good use, right?"

"Right…" Emily shook her head. "This is so weird. You've actually got a job. You'll be telling me you've got a girlfriend who's the daughter of someone influential next." When he failed to meet her eyes, she pulled a face. "Oh god… tell me it's not true?"

"My fiancée, Camilla, is–"

"Fiancée? _Camilla_?" Emily snorted with amusement.

He held up his hands. "Enough about me. What are you planning to do to sort your life out? You're going to speak to your girlfriend, right?"

"She doesn't want to talk to me."

"Em, don't be an asshole." Bucket told her bluntly. "I've never seen you like this. It suits you, this relationship. Don't fuck it up by acting like a child." He grinned at her petulant expression. "Besides, I need you out of the flat by tonight."

"What? Why?" Emily pulled a face. "Camilla coming over?"

"Well, technically she lives here. The only reason she's not here now is that she stayed at her parents last night. But… you're gonna piss yourself when I tell you…"

She grinned. "Go on?"

"We're having a dinner party."

"A what?" His friend laughed again. "Oh my God you're _old_ now. D'you have a walking stick around here somewhere? Do you listen to the Archers?"

"Yeah, well, shut up. Anyway, Millie is friends with Pippa, so–"

The grin immediately disappeared from Emily's face at the mention of her ex-girlfriend. "Shit."

"Right, so you see why you can't be here?" Bucket asked. "If you're here when Pippa comes over, you'll either shag her or murder each other. I can't really deal with either option and I really don't think you need that grief at the moment, do you?"

"No, I don't."

"So, if you want my advice, you'll go and find Serena and grovel."

"But I–"

"Clearly _something_ you did upset her, whether you want to admit it or not."

* * *

"Emily!" She glanced round and saw Fletch beaming at her from the other side of the reception desk. Smiling, the young woman made her way over to him. "Serena has been on the warpath all morning… hopefully that'll change now!"

"I shouldn't think so, Fletch, sorry." She pulled a face at him. "It's my fault. I was hoping to leave these on her desk to try and soften her up a bit. I'm not even sure she'll speak to me tonight… if she even lets me into the house, that is."

"Wow… what have you done?"

"I'm not _entirely_ sure," Emily admitted, "I don't think Serena knows, really. She's still grieving and I'm an idiot. Hopefully if I give her some time and space…" She shrugged. "I don't want to lose her."

Fletch smiled tightly and reached out to squeeze her shoulder. "When you lose someone important it takes a little time to remember you're not alone and there are other important people around you. She loves you, Em, so hang in there."

"Thanks, Fletch. Is she around?"

"I'm pretty sure I saw her heading towards Pulses not long ago. You could go and look for her?"

"No, I think I should… Can I put these in her office?"

"Go ahead." He agreed, nodding.

He watched her walk across the ward, before turning back to his paperwork once more. Emily moved towards Serena's office, not thinking to look through the slats of the blinds before putting her hand on the handle and twisting.

"What are you doing?" Serena demanded, looking up and realising who was in the doorway. Emily was almost completely hidden behind the bouquet in her arms. "Why are you here?"

"Because you're not answering my calls and, even if I had my phone, I doubt you'd answer my texts." The younger woman told her bluntly. "I knew you probably won't let me back into the house tonight, so I thought I should probably come here."

"You think I'm more likely to listen to you _here_? At work?"

"Probably not."

"So why are you here?"

Emily shrugged, pushing the hand that wasn't clutching the stem of the bouquet, almost impossibly tightly, into the back pocket of her jeans. "I wanted to bring you these. I didn't think you'd want to see me, so I came at lunchtime so you wouldn't have to. Fletch said he thought you were off the ward."

"Well, you messed that one up, didn't you?"

"Story of my life, at the moment."

"Was there anything else?" Serena asked harshly.

"Can I borrow your house keys, please?" Emily requested quietly. "Or Jason's. I just… I need to get my phone and some money and my keys… maybe some clothes too. If I can grab those I'll be out of your hair for a while."

"You didn't have them?" The older woman's face suddenly twitched with concern. "I assumed… where did you…?"

"I stayed at Bucket's."

"You… but that's the other side of… it's not safe for you to…"

"I was fine, love." Emily promised gently. "But I am going to need to find somewhere else to stay tonight and I'll probably need my purse for that."

"Where will you go?"

"Claire's… or Poppy's… I'll be fine."

"Claire of almost-getting-battered-by-Osgood's-shoe-in-the-shower fame?"

"They're my _friends_ , Serena, nothing else." The young woman promised her firmly. "You need time and space to work out what you really want. What you need. Whenever you're ready I'll be right here for you, Serena. I'm not going _anywhere_."

Serena blinked at her, as though she couldn't quite process the words she was hearing. Emily smiled warmly and then left the room quietly, pulling the door closed behind her. Several moments passed before Serena pulled herself together and stood up. She rooted around in her handbag, pulling out her keys, before hurrying after the younger woman.

"Emily!"

"Yeah?"

"Here… I'll use Jason's keys later." She pushed the key ring into Emily's hand, her fingers lingering for longer than was necessary. "What I said… about you… last night. I–"

"I know."

"No, I need to say it. It was unforgivable. I'm sorry."

Emily smiled weakly and shrugged. "You were probably right. I would make a terrible mother."

"No… I don't think I was right. I think you'd be–"

"It's forgotten." The younger woman told her, smiling weakly.

"Just… be careful."

Leaning forward, Emily pressed a kiss to Serena's cheek, closing her eyes and breathing in the familiar scent of her girlfriend; coconut shampoo, the expensive body lotion that Emily could never quite place, Chanel perfume and something that was uniquely Serena. "I love you."

Then she was gone, pulling her jacket more tightly around herself as she strode along the corridor, high-heeled boots clicking on the floor as she went. Serena watched, tears springing to her eyes as she brought her fingertips up to touch the spot Emily's lips had just been.


	45. Drowning her Sorrows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... that last chapter was quite depressing - note to self, don't write when incredibly stressed.
> 
> To make up for it, have a slightly more cheerful one!

"Hey, Em!"

The brunette paused on her way out of the hospital. Glancing around for the source of the voice shouting her name, she spotted the two junior doctors from Serena's ward sitting at a table in the coffee shop. With a weak smile, she headed in their direction.

"Fletch tells us you're in Ms Campbell's bad books." Jasmine informed her bluntly, pushing out the spare chair at their table for Emily to sit down. "Sounds like you're in need of a drink or three."

"Thanks, but what I actually need is to find somewhere to stay."

"You can stay with us, right Morven?"

The young Doctor nodded enthusiastically. "Of course, for as long as you like!"

"That's settled, then." The bubbly young woman reached into her scrubs and pulled out some keys. "You know where we live, right? Get your stuff and make yourself at home. We'll meet you at Albie's at eight, OK?"

"Ummm… OK?" Emily looked between them in bemusement, before dropping her eyes to the keys in her hand. "Thanks?"

Heading home, Emily made a mental list of all the things she needed to take with her. Hopefully she wouldn't need to stay with Morven and Jasmine for too long, but she didn't want to have to come back if Serena didn't want to see her. Finally settling on taking enough clothes to see her through until the end of the week, Emily gathered everything together and made her way downstairs.

Pausing in the hallway, Emily scribbled a note to Serena telling her where she was staying and that she would be in Albie's that evening if the older woman fancied a drink. Chewing her lip, she left the note on the hallstand, with her keys, where she knew Serena would see it as soon as she walked into the house.

* * *

"So you're twenty-one?" Jasmine asked, handing round the cocktails she'd just bought.

"Yes?"

"And Serena's–?"

"Don't go there." Emily warned her with a grin. "I want to know what it's like working for her?"

Jasmine pulled a face. "She's a bit scary and because she blames me for her daughter's death, so–"

"She _what_?"

"Jas." Morven shook her head lightly at her friend. "Ms Campbell's under a lot of stress at the moment." She smiled, taking a sip of her drink. "So, what is it you do?"

"I… well… I just got fired, actually." Emily admitted, pulling a face. "I don't think that's really helped Serena's mood."

"Fired? What did you do?" Jasmine asked, her eyes widening excitedly at the prospect of gossip.

The younger woman winced. "I'm not allowed to talk about it… it's kinda classified."

"Classified? Who are you? Jane Bond?"

Laughing, Emily shook her head. "No. Nothing remotely near that. I'm… I was… a civil servant. I'm just not allowed to talk about my department or what happened."

"Or what? What happens if you tell us?" Jasmine leant forward, narrowing her eyes mischievously. "Do we all get taken out by snipers or something?"

"No, probably not." Emily replied with a grin as Morven giggled beside her. "But I'm hoping to try and convince them to give me my job back, so I _probably_ shouldn't say too much."

"It's fine. A couple more cocktails and you'll be telling us _all_ your secrets."

"Dream on, Burrows."

"So? Are you and Serena over then?" Jasmine asked suddenly, a couple of cocktails later, making Morven choke on her mouthful and Emily fix her with an irritated look. "I mean, she won't speak to you and you're sleeping on our couch."

"No." Emily frowned. "No way. I'm gonna talk her round. I _can't_ lose her."

"Well now's your chance." Morven said calmly, nodding towards the door.

Looking up, Emily spotted her girlfriend walking into the bar. She was looking around, attempting to be casual, but the hand rubbing nervously at the nape of her neck gave her away instantly. Serena looked in her direction and their eyes met. Instantly the older woman's expression softened and a small smile tugged at her lips.

"I think this is my cue." Emily murmured, putting her glass down and standing up.

"Go get her, tiger." Jasmine teased, earning herself an eye roll in return.

Standing up, intending to do just that, Emily was surprised when a man approached Serena at the bar. She watched as he spoke to her for a moment, before signalling to the barman. Sinking back into her seat, Emily watched as a glass of wine was set down in front of her girlfriend and the man settled himself in the stool beside Serena's. He leant closer; laying his hand casually on her knee and making Emily's blood boil in the process.

"Oh…" Morven pulled a face, glancing sideways at her friend.

"That is not good." Jasmine agreed, her eyes roving over the man sitting beside the consultant. "He looks pretty flash."

"Yeah, but Ms Campbell wouldn't…" Trailing off as Serena laughed flirtatiously and laid a hand on the man's arm, Morven shook her head. "That can't be…"

"Fuck." Emily let out a frustrated huff, leaning back in her chair dejectedly.

"I thought you literally _just_ told us that you were going to talk her round?" Jasmine demanded, seeing her friend visibly deflating in front of their eyes. "You said you couldn't lose her. Are you just going to sit here and watch _that_?"

"I just… if Serena… I can't compete with that. _Him_."

"It's not a competition!" Morven pointed out. "She's your girlfriend. Go and get her back."

"Go!" Both doctors urged, Morven pulling Emily out of her chair by the arm and Jasmine pushing her towards the bar.

Glancing over her shoulder at them as she walked across the room, Emily awkwardly leant against the bar next to Serena. The older woman was purposefully ignoring her, focusing on the conversation she was having with the man beside her, so Emily cleared her throat loudly, causing Serena to sigh and turn her head in her direction.

"Can we help you?" The man asked, clearly irritated by the interruption to their conversation.

Seeing red, Emily narrowed her eyes at him. "Actually, I was coming to ask my _girlfriend_ if she wanted a drink." When he gaped at her, she looked him up at down. "You might be able to flash the cash and buy her a drink or two and flirt with her for a while, but that's all you'll get. Serena wouldn't look at you twice."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, it is _so_. I don't deserve her, but you _definitely_ don't. She's worth twenty of you, mate. So why don't you just jog on, yeah?"

Glaring at Emily, but realising that Serena was staring at the young woman as though she had only just noticed she was there and now couldn't see anything else, the man stamped out of the bar without another word. Realising she didn't actually know what to say next, Emily simply asked whether Serena wanted a drink. At the expression on the older woman's face, she grinned and ordered her a large glass of Shiraz.

"Rena…"

"Can we just… not?" Serena asked tiredly. "Please?"

Emily nodded, smiling softly and knowing that in a few minutes her girlfriend would start talking anyway. "OK."

"I… oh, it sounds totally ridiculous… it was only one night." Serena started, shaking her head as she dismissed her feelings.

"I missed you, too."

"Why do you have to be so idiotic?" The older woman demanded angrily.

Shrugging, Emily sighed. "I don't know. I'm sorry. I honestly was just trying to cheer you up, though. I went about it in completely the wrong way, I know that, but I am a massive idiot."

"That makes two of us." Serena said softly. Frowning, Emily looked up at her. "Will you forgive me?"

"Forgive you? What for?"

"Throwing you out, being unreasonable, flirting with that odious man, putting us both through all of this…"

"It's forgiven and forgotten." Emily promised. "Just… please don't throw me out again." She requested. "Next time I do something stupid, yell at me as much as you like and I deserve and then we can have super hot, angry sex instead."

Serena choked on her mouthful of wine, looking around to make sure no one else had heard her girlfriend's words. "Em!"

"What?"

"You can't just say things like that to me, here, surrounded by other people where I can't do anything about it!" A devilish smirk appeared on Emily's face and Serena's eyes widened. "No, Emily."

"Why not? I know it doesn't come naturally, but you _can_ be quiet, can't you?"

"Emily!"

Grabbing Serena by the hand, Emily dragged her through the bar in the direction of the toilets. The older woman half-heartedly said something about her wine, before they crashed through the toilet door and she was pushed against the wall. Emily crashed their lips together, grasping Serena's hips tightly and pressing a thigh between her legs. The moan she received in response was enough to send a spike of arousal shooting through her.

"God, you're hot." Emily groaned out, fumbling with the buttons on Serena's blouse and kissing her way down her chest.


	46. Repeat Offender

Kate pushed her hands into her trouser pockets, surveying the scene in front of her. They'd been called to the site of a possible alien incursion in the Brecon Beacons, but so far the Head of UNIT couldn't really see what all the fuss was about. Osgood was deep in discussion with Malcolm and McGillop because apparently the Defence Minister had seen fit to order all three of her top scientists to attend the scene.

"I think this is going to be an overnighter, Ma'am." Captain Carter told her, appearing at her side with his usual lack of warning.

Kate didn't flinch. "That's not possible."

"Torchwood have been sniffing around."

"Of course they have." Kate sighed, furrowing her eyebrows as she stared at the apparent crater they were investigating. "Staying overnight isn't an option, Josh. Besides, there's nothing of interest here. I think the MOD just got a bit–"

"Ms Stewart!"

Kate and Josh had taken two steps towards the crater when something erupted from the ground and flew high into the air above their heads. Giving the command immediately, Kate pulled out her own firearm and fired towards the thing that was raining bullets on them from above. They were unlike bullets the woman had even seen before, glowing faintly and emitting an odd low-pitched hum.

What was about to happen registered in Kate's mind a split second before it did, allowing her to leap away from the bullet lodged in the ground beside her left foot. It exploded, sending shrapnel in all directions. Wincing at the feeling of metal impaling her lower leg Kate rolled to her feet and set off at a sprint towards the armoured vehicle on the roadside. She wasn't one to duck out of a fight, but she was also not stupid enough to put herself in harm's way with no protection or ammunition left in her gun.

"Os…" Kate's heart clenched painfully in her chest as she clamoured into the truck and almost fell across her wife's lap. "Thank god…"

"Private Walker got me out of the way." Osgood told her calmly.

"Well thank god for Private Walker." The blonde replied with a tight smile.

Osgood pressed a hand against Kate's cheek briefly, the older woman allowing her eyes to slip closed for a moment before they both pulled themselves together. Pulling out her mobile, Kate called Serena and asked whether she would be able to look after the twins. The other woman was surprised by the request, particularly when Kate made absolutely no mention of her elder daughter during their conversation. Things were still difficult between the two Stewart women, but Serena and Osgood had been doing their best to smooth things over.

"What have we got, then?" Kate asked as soon as her phone was safely back in her pocket.

"Elevated radiation levels, lowered nitrogen in the atmosphere around the crater, elevated acidity in the soil." Osgood reeled off. "Trace markers matching with several samples we've got on file, but we're going to need to run more tests and collect a more varied selection of samples to analyse."

"Right…" Kate nodded firmly. The noise outside seemed to have died down and when they poked their heads through the canvas flaps at the back of the truck the creature that had been attacking them had been subdued and contained. "Let's get back out there and get those samples."

"Hey… hey!" Osgood grasped the blonde by the arm, realising that she was limping. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Kate waved her concern away, heading towards the crater and the creature. "Josh! What can you tell…"

Trailing off, Kate's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she collapsed. Osgood was just quick enough to catch her before she hit the ground, cradling her wife in her arms and shouting for the field medic to assist her. Threading her fingers through the blonde's hair, she spoke soothingly into her ear, firmly believing that even though Kate was unconscious she would be able to hear what she was telling her.

"Ma'am?" Josh had turned at the question and saw his boss crumpling. "Here…"

He scooped Kate into his arms with very little effort. Osgood fought to keep the jealousy off her face as he carried her towards the safety of the truck they'd just left. Watching the placement of his hands on her wife's body like a hawk, the brunette signalled again to the field medic to join them.

"Shrapnel in her leg… imbued with some kind of anticoagulant… she'll bleed out…"

Osgood snatched the portable liquid analyser from the man's hands, looking at it closely. "It also says that there's some kind of soporific agent present in her blood."

"Dangerous combination in this situation…" The medic shook his head. "She needs to get to a hospital."

"Don't be stupid!" Osgood shook her head. "We can't take her to hospital! You know that. That's why we have a field medic team."

He sighed. "I'm not trained or equipped for this situation. This is far more complex than the usual injuries we deal with."

Grabbing the portable x-ray, Osgood held it over her wife's leg, reading the image it gave her with ease. "She's got a laceration to the posterior tibial artery… this needs operating on right now. She needs surgery!"

"I can't…"

"I've put in a call." Josh's calm voice met Osgood's ears, along with his hand on her arm. "We'll have her sorted in no time."

"She can't… what if she…?"

"She's not going anywhere, Os." He promised her. They looked up at the sound of a helicopter overhead. "See… told you they'd get her sorted."

Osgood felt terrible about the jealousy she'd felt watching Josh carry Kate to the truck. She knew that he had the utmost respect for his boss and would never do anything to compromise that. It wasn't the first time she'd had to deal with her wife being in such a seemingly desperate situation and Kate had always pulled through before. Osgood had a strong feeling in her chest that it wasn't Kate's time, that she would pull through, yet again.

It didn't stop her panicking, though.

"Why do you keep doing this to me, woman?" She murmured, trailing behind as Kate was loaded onto the helicopter with a, thankfully, fully trained medic who knew exactly what to do. "It's got to stop."

"I am _not_ filling in the Health and Safety forms for this…" Kate murmured. Then, hearing the slight wheezing from beside her she frowned. "Inhaler."

Smiling, Osgood fumbled for her inhaler, before she pressed their foreheads together. "I think they'll be a bit redundant by the time you get round to them, anyway."

"Mmm… so, what've I done this time?" The blonde asked weakly, lacing her fingers through her wife's.

"Posterior tibial artery laceration," Osgood informed her bluntly, "complicated by the presence of anticoagulant and soporific agents in the shrapnel that cut you."

"Excellent."

"Don't do anything by halves, do you, darling?"

"I try not to." Kate agreed softly.

Osgood shuffled aside as the medic on board the helicopter indicated that he needed to check the patient's vital statistics, keeping a tight hold of Kate's hand the whole time. They landed on the hospital roof and then it was all hands on deck to get Kate downstairs and into the operating theatre.

Pacing while she was apart from her wife, Osgood pulled out her mobile and called Kate's children. Gordon answered immediately and offered to drive down to see them. His stepmother shook her head, even though she knew he couldn't see her, telling him that it wasn't necessary. She was hoping that as soon as Kate was stable they would be able to transfer her closer to home.

Emily hadn't answered Osgood's call, so she'd called Serena instead. Jason had answered her phone and a thoroughly confusing conversation had followed, until the handset was returned to its owner and Serena had managed to explain everything Jason had been attempting to tell her in a couple of sentences. Relieved that the twins hadn't been lost, as he seemed to have been implying, Osgood had explained the reason for her call to the older woman.

Serena assured Osgood that she was able to look after the twins for as long as was necessary, but asked her to keep them informed of what was happening. She suggested that, should the need arise, she could have Kate under the scalpel of one of the best surgeons in the country in a matter of hours. Thanking her profusely, but assuring the other woman that it should be unnecessary, Osgood returned to pacing the corridors of The Heath hospital.

It was hours before a nurse found the brunette and informed her that her wife had come through surgery and was recovering well. Following her to the side room where Kate was resting, Osgood thanked the nurse distractedly and settled herself in the chair beside the bed, holding the blonde's hand with both of hers.

"You have really got to stop doing this to me." She murmured, resting her forehead against the metal bar that ran along the side of the bed. "I don't think my heart can cope with many more frights like this."

"I'm sorry." Kate murmured sleepily. "Although I don't think I can really be blamed for this one."

"No, I suppose not." Her wife conceded with a sigh. "This is the fifth trip to hospital in as many months, Ms Stewart."

"Are you… are you asking me to–?"

"No!" Osgood looked horrified at the prospect of Kate giving up her job, which is what she assumed the blonde thought she meant. "Of course not! I would never ask you to stop being you."

"So…?"

"Just… be a bit more careful, Kate." She sighed.

"Os?"

"There was a great big… _thing_ … out there raining bullets and what do you do? Run out into the open without a second thought. There were soldiers there, Kate. Soldiers who were trained and ready and wearing protective armour and… I don't want you to change, I _really_ don't. I love you for who you are; strong, forceful, determined, beautiful… but I can't…" She let out a sob that she had been trying to force down. "Kate… what if I lost you?"

"I'm not going anywhere, my love." Kate tried to assure her, squeezing the hand that was holding hers painfully tightly.

"You can't promise that. I don't _want_ you to promise that. I just… I just want you to be careful… to think before you act."

Closing her eyes, the blonde nodded. "I will. I love you, Os."

"I love you, too. The kids love you… all four of them."

Kate looked up, hope painfully obvious in her eyes. "Emily?"

Osgood wasn't quick enough to stop the answer being written all over her face for her wife to see it. "When she hears…"

"Thanks for trying, love."

"She'll come round." Osgood assured her gently, using the hand that wasn't holding Kate's to push her hair back from her face. She kissed her forehead gently. "She loves you."

"How long do I have to stay in here?" Kate asked after a few minutes. Somehow Osgood had found her way onto the bed beside her. "I want to go home."

"A couple of days, but I've talked them into transferring you closer." Osgood informed her gently. Kate turned and looked at her, raising an eyebrow. Osgood shrugged and grinned. "I've learnt the art of persuasion from the best."

Smiling softly, Kate relaxed against her wife, snuggling into her side. "I think I'll take some time off; I'm owed it, after all."


	47. Honeymooning

Kate and Osgood had booked a cottage on the Llŷn Peninsula, somewhere Kate had often stayed with her father when she was little, for two weeks rest and relaxation after the older woman's recent hospital visit. They hadn't had time for a honeymoon, so they had decided to take the twins to the Welsh Coast with the aim of spending some time together as a family and making memories in case the worst should happen. Not that they'd discussed that out loud. It was an unspoken thing between them that no one wanted to acknowledge.

Gordon and Lorna were planning to drive up and stay for a long weekend in the middle of their holiday and Kate was hoping that Serena would be able to persuade Emily – and Jason – to join them too. She wasn't holding out much hope considering Emily seemed to have taken a vow of silence where her mother was concerned.

On the third morning of their holiday, Osgood woke and found Kate's side of the bed empty. Flinging out an arm sleepily, she realised that the vacant spot was cold and Kate must have been up for a while. Finding her glasses on the bedside cabinet, she put them on and slipped her legs out from underneath the duvet, stretching and yawning widely. Passing the cots as she headed for the door, she saw that Alice was fast asleep and Henry's was empty. A fond smile appeared on her face as she realised the reason for her wife's absence.

"Morning."

Kate turned away from the window, smiling softly at her wife, rocking Henry gently in her arms. The early morning sun caught her hair, turning it golden, making it seem like Kate was glowing. Osgood felt as though her heart was singing, remembering that the woman in front of her was her wife.

"Morning, darling." Kate moved away from the window, pressing a kiss to Osgood's cheek. "Sleep well?"

"Mmm… would have been better if I hadn't woken up alone." She teased, earning herself a soft chuckle. "Coffee?"

"You're an angel."

"I try."

"You succeed." Kate told her with a smile. "Unlike this little monster. We've been up since five… we did see the sunrise, though."

Osgood had just set the mugs out on the counter to make coffee when they heard Alice wailing. Smiling, Kate nodded as the brunette headed in the direction of their crying eight-month-old, one-handedly taking over the coffee making duties. By the time Osgood returned, the coffee was made and a plate of pastries was sitting in the middle of the kitchen table.

The kitchen at the holiday cottage was Kate's dream kitchen. Old-fashioned, yet functional; her love of the style probably had something to do with the memories she had of her childhood visits with her father. They'd played cards at the kitchen table while her mother and then, later, which ever assistant her father had brought with them had busied themselves at the AGA; managing to prepare a delicious meal, despite the temperamental state of the cooker. Kate had always said that as soon as she could afford one, she'd buy an AGA for her own kitchen. It had never materialised, however.

"We can get one, if you want?" Osgood offered softly, knowing where her wife's mind was. Kate thought, not for the first time, that the brunette must be able to read her thoughts. "I know you've always wanted one."

"Maybe." Kate agreed with a shrug. Shaking her head slowly, she smiled fondly, looking down at their son. "I can't remember what life was like before the twins."

"I know…" Osgood agreed. "Eight months… I can't quite believe it. They're already so different… such little characters… it's amazing. _They're_ amazing."

"I think we're a _little_ biased. But yes, they are amazing."

"Henry's going to be like Em, isn't he?"

Kate sighed. "Sadly, I think he might. He reminds me so much of her when she was little. She used to tug on her hair when she was tired, too. And the face he pulls when he's hungry… identical to Em's. Alice, on the other hand, is much more like Gordy was. He was a very easy baby."

"It wouldn't be so bad, would it? If Henry grows up like Em, I mean?"

"I suppose not… as long as he doesn't stop talking to me, too."

"She'll come round." Osgood promised. "She loves you too much to keep this up for long."

Leaning forward, Kate pressed a kiss to her wife's cheek, before settling Henry in the highchair and heading upstairs to get dressed. Osgood watched her go, pulling out her mobile to send a quick text to Kate's daughter. Guessing that Emily would probably not respond, she sent a text to Serena as well, hoping that the older woman would be able to persuade her girlfriend to join them for the weekend.

Once they were all dressed and sorted, Kate and Osgood headed out of the cottage in the direction of the beach. They strolled along the cliff tops, hand-in-hand and each with a baby strapped to their backs. Alice seemed content to enjoy the sights and sounds around them, but Henry babbled and shouted from his position behind Osgood. He kicked his legs as best he could, grabbing at his mother's hair as the sea breeze tugged it free from her ponytail. Laughing, Kate reached up to release his grip as her wife winced, tapping him gently on the nose as he frowned at her.

They made their way down the winding track towards the beach. Osgood carefully laid out the blanket on the sand, weighing it down with the picnic basket and the baby carriers, while Kate occupied the twins. Their day passed peacefully, the family enjoying themselves and the peace and quiet immensely.

Taking the opportunity while the twins were sleeping, Kate wrapped her arms around Osgood tightly, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. Osgood closed her eyes, leaning into the embrace and sighing deeply. They sat in silence for a while, watching their sleeping babies, before Osgood shifted a little so that she could see her wife's face.

"What d'you think they'll be when they grow up?" She asked suddenly.

"Whatever they want to be, I suspect." Kate replied with a shrug. "I can't imagine either of us having a say in either of their careers."

"Well, no." Osgood agreed. "But I want them to do something worthwhile."

"They will. With you to guide them, they'll be able to do little else."

"And you."

The blonde chuckled. "You've met my daughter, yes?"

"She'll be alright." Osgood assured her. "She's headstrong, that's all. Not unlike someone not a million miles from here."

"I know, I know, she's too like me for her own good." Kate sighed and nuzzled her nose into her wife's neck. "Enough about Emily. We're supposed to be relaxing and she is _far_ from a relaxing topic of conversation."

Osgood laughed, making Henry snuffle in his sleep and causing Kate to grip her arm. She snorted at the panicked expression on her wife's face at the prospect of their son waking from his nap, earning herself a half-hearted frown. Shaking her head, Osgood leant in and pressed her lips gently against Kate's, savouring the chance to kiss her without any interruptions.


	48. Seriously?

Serena had fought her way through a complicated surgery, only to learn that her patient had died on the ward. There was nothing she could have done to prevent the outcome, but it didn't make it any easier to swallow. The family, thankfully, understood that there was no blame to place; even going so far as to thank her for everything she had done to save their relative.

She had retreated to the office to complete paperwork, burying herself in work to forget about everything else. There was sympathy in the eyes of her colleagues; no doubt they were thinking about Elinor, comparing her death to the poor young woman she had failed to save that morning. There was no comparison in Serena's mind; her daughter had died because she'd been stupid enough to take drugs while Caroline Winters had died because she'd been unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and a truck had ploughed into her car. She hadn't stood a chance, when the surgeon thought about it logically, whatever she'd done to try and prevent the inevitable outcome.

However, if one more person sent her the look that clearly showed that they pitied her, the consultant thought she might actually scream in their face. Letting out a long, deep breath that she wasn't sure she knew she'd been holding, Serena turned her full attention to the computer screen in front of her. If she was stuck in the office then she might as well complete some of the paperwork she'd been avoiding. Maybe then she'd make it home earlier than expected. She owed her girlfriend at least one date night for all the times she'd had to take rain checks recently.

Mentally patting herself on the back as she finished the latest report on waiting times on AAU, Serena heard a knock on the office door. Expecting Raf with the test results from her suspected appendicitis patient, she called out for whoever was outside to enter, opening a blank email and attaching the report. She was just typing Hanssen's email address into the bar at the top when she heard a familiar, but completely unexpected, voice. It was so out of place that it took Serena a couple of moments to realise that she wasn't imagining it.

"Emily?"

"Oh, hey, Ms Campbell." The younger woman greeted her girlfriend with a grin, sending her a cheeky wink. She made absolutely no reference to her unexpected appearance on AAU or the fact that she was addressing her so formally. "Got some files for you from the ED."

"You… files… _what_?"

Grinning delightedly at the surgeon's complete confusion, Emily nodded and handed over the folders in her hands. Serena took them wordlessly, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to understand what was happening. The twenty-one-year old standing in front of her dressed in, very well-fitting, pale green scrubs was undoubtedly her girlfriend but, as far as she was concerned, there was no logical reason for Emily to be dressed in such a way and standing in her office.

"I got a job!" Emily replied to the unasked question that was hanging between them, grinning proudly. "I didn't tell you before in case I didn't get it. But I did, so… I'm Holby's newest Health Care Assistant."

"What?" Walking past Emily, Serena pulled the door closed quickly, before turning on her girlfriend seriously. "What's going on?"

"I _needed_ to find a job and… well, it was Jason's idea, really." Emily said, chewing her lip. She was suddenly starting to worry that, yet again, she'd accidentally done something to really piss the older woman off. The way Serena was staring at her didn't exactly fill her with reassurance. "He saw the ad for the HCA job and thought I should go for it. He said he never thought he'd enjoy being a porter so much until he did it and he thought I'd be really good at this." She shrugged. "If it's a problem I can jack it in and try and find something else."

"No, I… it was a bit of a shock, that's all. I didn't think you had any interest in medicine?"

"Well, I'm not going to say this is my dream job. Like I said, Jason persuaded me to give it a go. I probably would have even considered it if he hadn't twisted my arm. But I might as well give it a try and if it doesn't work out I can think of something else."

Catching sight of the name on the tag pinned to her scrubs, Serena's hand shot out and caught the card deftly, pulling Emily towards her and forcing her to stand still. Emily took the opportunity to situate herself between her girlfriend's legs, her hands running up the older woman's thighs to settle on her hips, squeezing gently. The older woman looked at the nametag for a moment, before arching an eyebrow at her smirking girlfriend.

"Really?"

"Well, if my mother can work here as Bernie Wolfe, I'm sure I'm allowed to be Emily Wolfe."

"Technically I think that was because she was working undercover for UNIT…"

Emily shrugged. "Whatever. I've got the nametag, it's fine."

"It's not, so we'll have to get it changed, ASAP." Serena informed her sternly. I'm not having people thinking my girlfriend has a doppelgänger running around!"

"You're OK with me working here, then?" The younger woman asked nervously, as though dreading the answer. She took an uncertain step backwards, her hands dropping from Serena's hips.

"I'm not sure working in such close proximity–"

Emily sent her a lopsided grin. "I'm not working on AAU; I'm not completely stupid. I'm up on Darwin. Cardiothoracics are fascinating."

" _Darwin_?" Serena's eyes almost dropped out of her head. "You're on Darwin?"

"Yes… Darwin. As in old Charlie, father of evolutionary theory."

"You're on Darwin with Jac Naylor?"

Emily grinned, a delighted giggle escaping her as she remembered her first meeting with the fearsome redhead. "That woman is hilarious."

"Don't let her catch you saying that." Serena cautioned. "And behave… do not give her any reason to report you or–"

"It'll be fine," Emily flapped a hand dismissively at her girlfriend, "I'll melt the ice queen. She's gonna love me by the end of the week, trust me." Glancing at the time, she shrugged. "I'd better get back. Catch you later, babe."

"Oh god." Serena sank into her chair and put her head in her hands as soon as the door closed behind Emily, wondering just how long it would be before Jac Naylor was on the warpath and she was on the wrong end of it.


	49. Olive Branches and Propositions

"Sorry, Em had to work a double shift today so she won't be able to join us. She's on the same shift pattern as Jason, so they'll be finished at the same time."

Serena had invited Kate and Osgood round for dinner, completely fed up of her girlfriend not speaking to her mother and stepmother. Up until that morning Emily had, albeit moodily, agreed to be civil and attempt to work towards forgiving and forgetting. Then, halfway through her shift at the hospital, she had phoned and told Serena that she had to work a double to cover. Apparently there was a vomiting bug ripping through the staff and she was only too willing to work and miss the dinner.

"Emily has a job?" Kate asked, slightly surprised. "Since when?"

"Mmm… She's a HCA. She said she was going to tell you."

"At Holby? Serena, you didn't have to–"

The brunette held up her hands at Kate's words. "I assure you, I had nothing to do with it. She got the job on her own merits and with my nephew's encouragement. I didn't even know until she appeared in my office with some transfer forms."

"Wow…" Kate looked as though she didn't quite believe what she was hearing.

Serena narrowed her eyes slightly. "She's doing very well, by all accounts. She's even talking about doing her qualifications to become a nurse."

" _Really_? We're still talking about my daughter, right?"

"Emily is more than capable of achieving _anything_ she puts her mind to." Serena snapped irritably.

"Well, yes, but… I never thought…" The blonde shrugged, not taking it personally. "She never showed any interest in medicine before. I always thought Gordy might go back to it one day, but _Emily_?"

Osgood smiled gently, finally speaking. "I'm pleased for her. She deserves a chance."

"She does." Serena agreed, signalling the end of that particular topic. "Now, can I get you both a drink?"

The conversation and the atmosphere both lightened as the evening progressed. Serena seemed to be trying to stall things, to keep Kate and Osgood around until Emily got home. They, however, were aware of the time and wanted to get back to relieve the babysitter they'd hired to watch the twins.

All three enjoyed themselves, however, enjoying the opportunity for a grown-up conversation that didn't revolve around work or family. Kate was well aware that Serena didn't want to discuss her daughter's untimely death and so they steered clear of mentioning it. Neither were they particularly keen to talk about the chain of events that had led to Emily working for the NHS in the first place. It seemed that, for once, politics was a much safer topic of conversation.

"I have a proposition for you." Serena announced finally, leaning forward and looking between her guests over the remnants of desert.

"That's why you invited us over for dinner, hmm?" Kate asked, smirking at her and fiddling with the stem of her wine glass.

"Partially." The brunette agreed honestly. "Although before Emily had to work it was supposed to be another attempt at a reconciliation."

Kate clenched her jaw but made no comment on the second reason for their invitation, not wanting to spoil the evening. "So? What's this proposition?"

"You know how we're always looking for extra means of funding in order to improve the hospital facilities and skills of our staff?" Serena started, looking between them again.

"Yes…"

"I know that Osgood has been working on a new type of laparoscopic instrument that uses better depth perception, motor control and dexterity than anything we have now."

"Serena… I'm adapting alien technology." Osgood reminded her with a frown. "It's experimental and mostly theoretical and definitely not intended for use around the general public."

"Quite, but there's no reason we can't apply the principals of what you're doing to what I do. Imagine the scope if we could design a much more sensitive set of laparoscopic instruments."

Kate looked at her thoughtfully. "Right, so…?"

"What I'm proposing is this; I work with Osgood to develop the new surgical instruments–"

"Write the papers, cash in on the technology…" The blonde asked cynically, arching an eyebrow.

Serena chose not to comment, but a slight smirk twisting her lips told the scientists all they needed to know on the matter. "In return we create a partnership between the Holby Trust and UNIT to develop the medical skills of your team. I'm sure you remember how well our Trauma Unit runs?"

"Who says the skills of our medical team need developing?"

"Oh, please…" Serena rolled her eyes. "You know that we have some of the finest surgeons and consultants in the country… the world! It wasn't all that long ago that your field medics were unable to save your life and you needed to be airlifted to the nearest trauma centre. They don't have the expertise they need to deal with the situations that arise in your line of work; how, I have no idea, but you need to accept that."

"Come on, Serena." Kate laughed, unable to argue that point. "UNIT isn't exactly common knowledge. How are you planning, exactly, to clear this proposal with Hanssen and the board? How are you planning to convince the Ministers for Defence and Health to sanction this?"

"Leave Hanssen to me. The other stuff is your department, not mine."

"Woah…" Osgood looked between the two women quickly. They were looking at each other unflinchingly, small smirks on each of their faces. "I can see what Kate meant, now."

"Hmm?" Serena glanced in the younger woman's direction.

"Oh…" Osgood's eyes widened. "She said you were passionate about your job… that you were one of the few people she wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It was definitely intended as one." Kate assured her with a smirk.

"So, what do you say, Ms Stewart?"

Considering her for a moment, Kate held out her hand and shook Serena's. "Deal."

"I think this calls for another bottle of wine."

Serena had just stood up to collect it from the kitchen when they heard the front door open and close. There was a scuffling sound from the hallway and a thud, which Serena recognised as both Jason and Emily dropping their bags on the floor. Muffled voices greeted their ears, growing louder when the living room door opened.

"…but that's just not possible. Physically it makes no sense." Emily was arguing.

"But it does. They need strong biceps and triceps. While it's helpful to have strong Quadriceps, Hamstrings and Soleus muscles, I think the arms give the edge."

"No way, Jase. You'd have to be blind not to see that it's all about the legs. They always tell you not to skip leg day."

"That's more about aesthetics than–"

"Emily, Jason?" Serena called, interrupting their conversation about World's Strongest Man and drawing their attention to the dining room.

Two faces appeared around the doorway. Jason beamed at their guests, greeting them warmly and immediately engaging Osgood in a conversation about something he'd read in one of his magazines. She was only too happy to be drawn into a conversation about the latest findings at NASA. Emily, however, attempted to slope away immediately.

"Oh, no you don't." Serena told her in a low voice, wrapping her arm around her girlfriend's waist and pushing her further into the room. "Your mother wanted to speak to you."

"She did?"

"I did?"

"Yes, she did." Serena replied meaningfully, narrowing her eyes as she looked between mother and daughter.

"I…"

The shrill ringing of Kate's phone interrupted them. Everyone recognised the personalised ringtone that signalled it was work calling. Apologising, the blonde left the room to answer the call, Emily rolling her eyes in response and telling Jason that she'd get them something to eat. He followed her into the kitchen, completely missing the atmosphere that had descended. Serena and Osgood exchanged a frustrated look, before the younger woman started gathering her things ready to leave.


	50. You Can't Get Rid of Me That Easily

"Oh, hi." Emily glanced up from the book she'd been reading at the sound of her mother's voice. "How did you…?"

"Jason." Kate explained, settling herself in the armchair across from her daughter's. "I went to the house and he told me you'd probably be here."

"Right…"

It had been a fortnight or so since Kate had last seen her daughter at the twins' second birthday party. As it so often seemed to do, a call had interrupted the event and lead to both Kate and Osgood reluctantly leaving the festivities. Apparently it was unavoidable as it had been about an incident they'd been monitoring closely for days and had led to several weeks of long hours; the pair barely leaving the Tower, apart from to co-ordinate intense operational manoeuvres. Both were grateful that the party was starting to wind up anyway and the majority of what they'd missed was the clean up operation.

Deciding that she wanted a proper catch up with her daughter, Kate had called at the house and been told by Jason that Emily would probably be in the coffee shop round the corner from the hospital until her shift started. He informed the blonde that he thought her daughter preferred the coffee shop to the one inside the hospital because she was less likely to be bothered and could get her reading done in peace. As he'd suggested, Emily was sitting at a table tucked away in the corner with an empty mug on the table and a large book balanced on her lap.

"What're you reading?" The older woman asked, lifting the book to look at the cover. " _Cardiac Surgery Essentials for Critical Care Nursing_? Sounds heavy."

"It's…" Emily sent her a small smirk. "You're right. It's heavy. Fascinating, though."

"How's the course going?" Kate asked softly. When Emily just shrugged, she leant forward in her seat. "Serena says you're doing great. Apparently you got top marks in your last essay."

"I didn't do too badly."

"When we first found out about this nursing idea, I honestly wasn't sure about it." Kate admitted with a shrug. "I couldn't imagine you as a nurse. But I'm really proud of you, Em."

"Thanks." The brunette blushed, tilting her head slightly so that her hair fell across her face.

"I still can't believe you're on Darwin with Jac Naylor." Kate continued, ignoring her embarrassment and choosing to change the subject. "How're you finding it?"

"I love it. They've sent me down to cover on Keller and in the ED a couple of times. Not AAU, though. I think they're deliberately keeping me out of Serena's way."

"But Darwin? From what I remember it's pretty tough playing by Naylor's rules."

Emily's eyes lit up at the mention of the Director of Cardiothoratics. "She's actually amazing. I've never met anyone quite so proficient at being a total bitch before. She's made it a form of art. She diagnosed and operated on a patient with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome yesterday morning and _still_ had time to call me an over-excitable excuse for a minion and order me to get her a coffee."

"She's still truly delightful, then?"

"I honestly enjoy hearing all the new insults she's cooked up for me. It's sort of our thing. I know she loves me _very_ deep down." Emily grinned wickedly. "Also, I take _great_ delight in getting her coffee order wrong every single day."

"You are seriously weird, sometimes." Kate chuckled fondly. "You're serious about this, then?"

"Yeah, I said so, didn't I?"

"No, actually, you didn't." Kate told her bluntly.

"Right, well… I'm as serious about this as I ever am."

Sighing deeply, Kate shook her head. "Don't do that."

"What?"

"Don't pretend you don't care. You're better than that."

"Fine, I care." Emily rolled her eyes. "Happy now?"

"Ecstatic." Her mother teased her. "I am proud of you, you know."

"I know. Finally got my life together at twenty-three."

"You had things sorted a long time ago, love."

They slipped into companionable silence for a while. Kate went to get more coffees while Emily finished up the chapter she was reading. When her mother returned, she asked about the latest situation at UNIT that had kept her so busy. Emily laughed at the image of her mother chasing a half-fish, half-horse like creature through the backstreets of Cardiff with the infamous Captain Jack Harkness, laughing even more when Kate informed her that the incorrigible Torchwood boss had prepositioned her at the least helpful moment possible.

"How's Serena's secondment going?"

"Another six weeks in Marseilles." Emily informed her gloomily, her face falling immediately. "We had a deal about our three year anniversary, but she managed to find a way around it."

"A deal?"

"Yeah… I was going to propose and she was going to say yes this time."

Kate blinked at her, shocked by the revelation. Her jaw twitched as she tried to appear casual. "This time?"

"Last time I asked her she convinced me that I was too young. She said that if I waited until now she'd say yes. Well, she wanted to wait until our five year anniversary, but I talked her round." Emily sighed, looking at her mother hopefully. "I don't want to wait, Mum. I know how I feel about her. It hasn't changed in three years… another two wouldn't make any difference. It's just… it's wasting time."

"Em, sweetheart, you're so young." Kate told her gently. "Maybe Serena's got a point. Maybe you _should_ wait a bit longer?"

"You and Os didn't wait."

"That's–"

"It's not different. You and Os were engaged after fifteen months, had kids eight months later and got married two months after that. You did all that within just over two years. Serena and I have been together _three_."

"Darling, you're twenty-three. Osgood and I were not."

"Nor's Serena."

Trying to choose her words carefully, Kate took a breath. "So… this is because Serena's–"

Emily rolled her eyes. "It's got nothing to do with Serena's age."

"Then I don't really see the rush?"

"It's not a rush. I just don't see the point in wasting time. I know what I want, I know what Serena wants, simple as that."

"You know what Serena wants? So why did she tell you to wait?"

"Because she, like you, thinks I'll change my mind. I won't." 

There was a long pause while the two simply stared at each other. Emily seemed to be daring her mother to make a comment, to tell her that she was too young and Kate didn't think it was a good idea. Arching her eyebrow in challenge, the younger woman waited for whatever was heading her way.

"Well in that case, what's your plan, kiddo?" Kate asked seriously. At the surprise on her daughter's face, she chuckled. "I'm assuming you've got a plan if you're so set on proposing to Serena?"

"Serena's birthday."

"Let me guess. You're going to Marseilles to surprise her."

"I'm that predictable, hey?"

"No." Kate narrowed her eyes. "That's how I know there's something else that you're not telling me."

"What–?"

"I know you better than you know yourself, Emily Stewart. What are you not telling me?"

Emily bit her lip. "I may have called in a favour… just a tiny one."

"You didn't? Not _her_?"

" _She_ has a TARDIS." The younger woman pointed out with a shrug. "Cheaper and quicker than booking a flight."

"How romantic." Her mother retorted sarcastically.

"Maybe not, but apparently the Singing Towers of Darillium are."

Kate blinked. "What?"

"There's a restaurant on Darillium. The Doctor recommended it… apparently one night there lasts twenty-four Earth years. Not that I'm intending to spend twenty-four years there."

"Sounds like you've got it all planned out."

"Mmmm…" Emily looked at her mother, chewing her lip again. "There is one thing I need your help with."

"Will it involve my credit card?"

"No." The younger woman looked mildly offended at the suggestion. "I want your opinion on… well, on rings." A light blush crossed her cheeks, much to her mother's amusement. "I mean… Serena's… and I'm…" She frowned, irritated at her inability to formulate a coherent sentence. "She deserves the best and I… well… I'm not exactly sophisticated, am I? I just… I don't want to get Serena something she'll hate."

"Whatever you choose will be perfect, love." Kate told her honestly. "Serena loves you and she'll love whatever ring you choose."

"I can just imagine her face if she hates it."

"She _won't_ hate it."

"But she might."

"Em. She won't."

The brunette huffed. "It's more difficult than I thought. I went to look and there are so many different cuts and settings and… and what the bloody _hell_ is a setting anyway?"

Kate snorted with laughter. "I do have a suggestion for you. You don't have to say yes and if you don't it's completely fine. It's totally up to you."

"What is it? At this point you could tell me to propose with a hula hoop and I probably would."

"Remember, you can say no."

"Mum!"

"I've got your grandmother's engagement ring… the one my father gave her." Kate shrugged nonchalantly. "It was going to come to you anyway, but if you wanted to give it to Serena…"

"Really?"

"Only because I know how much you love her." The older woman replied evenly. "If I thought this was just a whim I wouldn't have even told you. I know Serena is your one and I'm glad you didn't go through two ridiculous relationships… a sham of a marriage… before you found her."

"Thank you."

Emily wrapped her mother in a tight hug, burying her face in blonde hair that was so like hers, only lighter. Kate held on just as tightly, unable to escape the feeling that she was losing her daughter. Gordon was off living his own life with his girlfriend. He'd been terrible for keeping in contact before things got serious with Lorna but now weeks went past without a word from him. Emily had always been around, popping in and out of her life without warning and generally with the same likelihood of leaving her mark as a hurricane. Now, though, with her daughter throwing herself into her nursing training and deciding to propose to Serena it felt as though she was slipping through Kate's fingers. The blonde didn't think she was ready to let go just yet.

"Are you sure you have to do this?"

Furrowing her eyebrows at the choice of wording and the tone her mother had used, Emily pulled back to look at her properly. "Have to? I don't _have_ to do anything. I want to."

"I know that… I didn't mean…"

"I love you, Mama." The younger woman almost whispered. "Always have, always will; whatever I might try to pretend. You can't get rid of me that easily."

Rolling her eyes but not commenting, Kate pulled her back into another tight hug.


	51. Diamonds and Doubts

Glaring at the blonde standing beside the console, Emily huffed and hurried towards the TARDIS doors. She'd asked the Doctor for the most unobtrusive arrival possible and yet they'd somehow managed to materialise outside the French hospital where Serena was currently working in the middle of a busy courtyard-type area. Serena was going to be less than impressed with the fuss that her girlfriend had caused, but Emily was hoping she'd be able to distract her before she could get too angry.

"Emily Stewart, what on earth–?"

"Hey, babe…" Emily winced at Serena's tone, "just thought I'd pop over to wish you a happy birthday."

"And cause a commotion while you were at it?"

"Well, what can I say?" She grinned. "I guess France just isn't ready for me yet."

"I think it's more the blue box that appeared from nowhere, that they're not ready for." Serena retorted sarcastically. "What's it doing here?"

Emily shot her the most innocent smile she could muster. "I called in a favour. The Doctor has agreed to help me whisk you away on a birthday treat that is worthy of you."

Serena blinked. "Really?"

"Of course! I couldn't do _nothing_ when I could do _something_. Something big, come to that."

Serena's lips twitched towards a smile, although she seemed to be doing her best to hang onto her irritation. "What did you have in mind?"

Their dinner on Darillium was every bit as wonderful as the Doctor had promised Emily it would be. She had made sure that they had the most exclusive seats in the restaurant, out on the secluded balcony with the best view of the Singing Towers. Serena went uncharacteristically quiet when her girlfriend informed her that the robot waiter was one of the Doctor's wife's husbands. She allowed Emily to order their meals, seemingly incredibly alarmed by the idea that the head had once belonged on a more human body. Whether she was more concerned about that, or that her girlfriend didn't seem particularly bothered by it, was up for debate.

"This is wonderful." Serena announced a long while later, reaching across the table and squeezing Emily's hand. "Thank you."

"Just wait for desert."

"Oh… I don't think I could eat another thing."

Emily paused, looking vaguely panicked. "But… you have to."

"No, actually, I don't." Serena arched an eyebrow at her. "And I don't think I should. Not all of us have the figure of a twenty-three-year-old, Emily Stewart."

"I love your figure."

"I know you do." The older woman agreed, reaching out and cupping her girlfriend's cheek tenderly. She smiled when Emily leant into the palm, turning her head to press a kiss against it. "Which is all the more reason for me to refrain from desert."

"No, don't be silly! But I… you… please?"

"You do realise that you can order desert, even if I don't?"

"Yes… I… I don't want one. But you should. We could share?"

"I don't really–"

"You don't even have to eat it… just order something? Please?"

Serena's eyebrows furrowed and she looked across the table at Emily with slight concern. "You can be incredibly strange sometimes, my darling."

Apparently for the sole reason of appeasing her girlfriend, Serena ordered something off the desert menu. She couldn't pronounce it and didn't know what half the ingredients were, but it sounded promising anyway. Emily grinned as though Serena had made her entire year by giving in and ordering a pudding, causing the older woman to shake her head fondly, still holding her hand across the table.

"So… do you remember the conversation we had on our nineteen-month anniversary?" Emily asked after a couple of moments, spotting Ramone heading towards them with a tray in his hand. She pulled her hand out of Serena's, missing the contact immediately.

"The one about…?" Serena's eyes flitted across her face, looking for some clue. Her eyes widened as they settled upon the truth. She bit her lip as the younger woman took a deep, settling breath and fixed her gaze on the tablecloth beside her clasped hands. "Emily…"

"I know I'm not anything special, I'm not as smart as you or as sophisticated. I can't whisk you away on romantic weekend breaks or holidays… unless I blackmail the Doctor into acting as a taxi. Even then we have to deal with her rambling and _terrible_ sense of direction and… anyway… I… I can't give you a fraction of what you deserve. But I love you, Serena Campbell. I'd do anything for you."

Emily's breath hitched and she frowned at herself. Serena started to lean towards her, but Ramone set the tray on the table between them, apparently choosing the most inopportune moment to appear. Then, it became apparent immediately why Emily had been so eager for Serena to order something. As well as the desert she had ordered – which seemed to be some kind of exotic trifle – there was a smaller plate. In the centre of the plate was a black box.

"Em…" Serena swallowed thickly, guessing what her girlfriend's next words were going to be.

"I want you marry to me." Emily frowned as she glanced up and found herself looking directly into Ramone's face. "Not you! Get out of the way, idiot." She huffed at him as he held up his hands in apology and stepped backwards, out of her line of vision. "Sorry… Sorry, Serena, I… oh! It's all ruined now!"

"Em…"

Suddenly the younger woman was convinced that Serena was going to turn her down. It had been a stupid idea in the first place. She should never have dragged her halfway across the universe to ask a question that she was sure she already knew the answer to. Serena had clearly told her to wait as a way of letting her down gently. Why would someone like Serena want to tie themselves to someone like her. She was so _stupid_!

While Serena's gaze was locked onto the box that held her grandmother's ring, Emily was desperately searching the other diners for a sign of the Doctor. She'd said she would stay close, just in case, but apparently it had just been too much to hope she'd stick to her word.

"I… I'll go and find the Doctor." She muttered, mortified, standing abruptly and knocking her chair over. Her face flushed crimson and she mentally chastised herself even more. "I… I'm sorry. It was stupid. I shouldn't have…"

She started across the room, but before she could even make it past their table Serena's hand darted out and wrapped around her wrist. Emily's eyes closed and she refused to turn her head in the older woman's direction, clamping her lips together and feeling as though she was about to cry. She was convinced that Serena was about to tell her she didn't want to marry her.

"Serena, please just… don't…"

"So you don't want to marry me, then?" There was a tinge of sadness in Serena's tone that gave Emily hope.

"No. I mean yes." She shook her head, trying to make her words make sense. "Yes. I do want to marry you, very much, of course I do. But if you don't want to… can we just pretend I never asked? Go back to how it was?"

"Do I have to put the ring on myself?"

Emily turned to look at her slowly, her mouth dropping open. "You… what?"

"I rather think it's customary for the proposer to put the ring on the finger of the proposee." Serena continued, smiling broadly at her.

"You mean you will?"

"Of course. Although you do actually need to ask the question so that I can say yes."

"Serena Campbell… will you marry me?"

"Yes." The older woman nodded, laughing softly as Emily grabbed the box off the table and fumbled with it, apparently unable to open it and get the ring out fast enough, as though she thought Serena would change her mind. "Careful, darling!"

"Sorry…" Emily bit her lip as she gently slid the ring into place. It was a perfect fit. "It's almost like it was made for you."

Serena looked at it for a moment before cupping Emily's face in her hands and drawing her into a long kiss that was full of all the emotion she was feeling. Emily melted into her arms, wrapping herself around Serena and kissing her back with everything she had.

"She said yes, then?"

A familiar voice and a hand clapping down on each of their shoulders interrupted them. Breaking apart reluctantly, Emily kept her arm wrapped around Serena's waist, holding her close. She frowned at the Doctor, pouting at the interruption to their moment.

"I did." Serena agreed, turning and smiling at her now fiancée, her eyes flashing with pure happiness. "I can't believe she ever doubted it."

"What about another trip to the Opulence Spa on Retrexis to celebrate?" The Doctor suggested, pushing her way between the two women and slinging her arms around their shoulders. "A Retrexan Fertility Massage, Ooptnguga tea and shenanigans on the TARDIS?"

At her waggling eyebrows both Serena and Emily held their hands up, quickly refusing the trip. They exchanged a look, both snorting with amusement at the panic that was evident in each other's eyes at the prospect of a repeat of the last time they'd been to that particular planet.

"Remember what you said about 'shenanigans' on the TARDIS?" Emily reminded the Doctor.

She shrugged. "Yeah, but young love and all that!"

"No, thank you." Serena shook her head, rubbing at the nape of her neck. "I think I'm a little old to be–"

"You are _not_ old."

"You humans with your notions of age."

"But Serena's right." Emily agreed, sending her fiancée a look that plainly told her what she thought about her age-related comment. "We'll skip the Spa, thanks."

"I would, however, appreciate it if you could drop us at my apartment in Marseille, Doctor." Serena requested lacing the fingers of her hand, which now bore the sparkling diamond engagement ring, with Emily's. "I think we have some celebrating to do… in private."


	52. Working from Home

"Ma'am?"

Kate glanced up from the report she'd been pouring over, looking at her assistant over the top of her glasses. When he simply continued to stare at her silently, she raised a single eyebrow. Andrew cleared his throat and glanced down at the tablet in his hands, as though he really didn't want to convey whichever message he'd come to deliver.

"Just spit it out, Andrew." She sighed, leaning back in her seat and staring at him. "It'll be worse if you don't."

"The Defence Minister has sent over a revised agenda for your meeting tomorrow," he started, glancing down at the iPad in his hands, I've digitised it and forwarded it to your work email."

"And which part of that is causing the expression of dread on your face?" Kate asked, tapping at her laptop keyboard and signing into her secure emails. She scanned the attachment on the latest message from her assistant, her face darkening as she realised what he'd been thinking about. "She's done WHAT? Get her on the phone… now!"

As Andrew scurried away, having fully anticipated Kate's fury as she realised just which issue had been bumped from the agenda, she started pacing around her office. She had the handset of her office phone clamped against her ear, ready to start talking the second the call was put through. She was fully expecting an earful of placating, government mumbo-jumbo that meant nothing but was expected to act as an explanation for their actions and was ready to tell them exactly what she thought about it if necessary.

"Ahh, Minister…" Kate started, a determined grimace on her face as she heard the woman's voice on the other end of the line. "I've just seen the revised agenda from the meeting tomorrow." She paused for a moment, listening to the empty apologies. "I completely understand that time is of the essence in the current situation, but I absolutely must insist that the matter of training for field medical staff is put back on the agenda. I fear that if it isn't, there may be a little bit of an issue with my ability to clear the transfer papers for the latest batch of transfers from Geneva." She smirked, hearing the irritation in the Minister's voice. "I totally agree, it would be a terrible shame if they were delayed… it's your son's birthday on Wednesday, isn't it?"

"Kate?"

The blonde held up a hand as Osgood's face appeared around her office door. "If I have to deal with the field medic training on top of everything else, some things are going to have to be pushed down my to-do list, I'm afraid. As you can imagine, leave transfers aren't exactly my main priority, Minister. No… I quite understand. Lovely. I'm glad that's sorted. I'll see you tomorrow morning, then."

"You look pleased with yourself." The brunette told her wife, smiling at her as the blonde returned to her seat behind the desk and removed her glasses. "Actually, I think smug is a more accurate description."

"Clarissa Marsden thought she could bump discussing training for field medics from the agenda for tomorrow. She knows how important I feel that issue is, but she keeps dismissing it as though it's frivolous. I'll be damned if she's getting out of discussing it again!"

Osgood nodded seriously, hiding how amused she was by the almost war-like expression on her wife's face. "It's an important issue… they can't deny that. They just don't want to have to foot the bill for all the training the medics need."

"I know." Kate sighed. "But they're bloody well going to."

Laughing softly, Osgood held up a file. "The reason for my visit; the latest readings from the probes around at the crater. So far we've got quite a wide projection angle to cover, but Malcolm is working on narrowing it as we speak."

"Tell him it's much appreciated." Kate requested with a smile. "The more we know, the easier it'll be to trace the origin of the projectile."

"There was something else."

As the brunette moved to perch on the edge of her desk, Kate looked up at her. She had replaced her glasses while Osgood had been moving around the office, her eyes scanning over a half completed report she'd almost forgotten about. Making a small, questioning, sound in her throat, she looked up and met her wife's eyes. Osgood was fixing her with a slightly amused expression, causing Kate to twitch her lips into a light pout.

"What?"

"The twins are at Em and Serena's today."

Kate nodded, remembering the conversation she'd had with her daughter a few days previously. Emily had asked whether she and her fiancée could have the twins for the day as it would have been Elinor's birthday and she wanted to distract Serena as much as possible.

"Em said something about the zoo?"

"Yes," Osgood agreed, wondering whether she'd have to spell out what she was trying to get Kate to understand, "they're at the zoo today, but they're staying over there tonight."

"I know."

"So they won't be at home."

"Yes, Os, I realise that." Kate replied, looking at her in slight bemusement. "They'll be at Em and Serena's."

"So it'll just be us."

"Right…"

"We'll have the house to ourselves, love."

"Oh!" The blonde's eyes widened as she realised what her wife had been getting at. "Oh. Yes, I suppose we will." Smirking, she reached out and hooked a finger through one of Osgood's belt loops, pulling her closer. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well… I was thinking we could get a take away, a bottle of wine… maybe have an early night? To catch up on sleep, I mean."

Kate let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank god. I'm absolutely exhausted."

"I mean, we can still snuggle, can't we?" Osgood said with a smile, running her fingers through the blonde hair in front of her as Kate pressed her face against the soft material of her wife's jumper.

"Snuggling is _not_ optional, Os. It's very definitely mandatory."

"Good."

Sighing, Kate pulled away gently. "Eurgh… I wish I had the energy to make the most of our night of freedom."

"I know, love." Osgood agreed, feeling exactly the same way. "But in fairness we have been working even harder than usual lately."

"When are we not working, though?"

"That is a very–"

"Ma'am? Ah, Osgood."

Malcolm smiled broadly as he entered the office with the majority of his attention focused on the reports in his hands, still adding to them as he almost crashed through the door. Osgood surreptitiously slid backwards away from her wife. He blatantly had no idea that he had interrupted anything, licking the end of his pencil before scribbling something in the margin of one of the pages.

"It seems the point of trajectory leads us to somewhere in the seventy-third sector." He announced, all but throwing the report onto the desk in his excitement.

"Is it urgent?" Kate asked. When Malcolm merely blinked at her in response, she sighed. "If we don't deal with it right now, this instant, are we looking at a significant risk to the planet?"

"Well no, Ma'am, but–"

"Then it can wait until tomorrow." The blonde informed him firmly. "I've got a meeting with the Defence Minister to prepare for and Osgood has paperwork to catch up on, don't you?"

"I…? Yes?" Her wife nodded slowly, not catching onto the meaningful look Kate was sending her. As soon as she did, however, Osgood's eyes widened and she nodded firmly. "Yes, the element reports you asked for last week still need updating and completing."

"Shall I continue monitoring the threat, Ma'am?" Malcolm asked nervously.

Kate nodded, already in the process of gathering her things ready to leave the base. "Excellent idea. Inform us if anything changes; we'll be working from home for the rest of the day."

Waiting until the scientist scuttled from the room, Osgood turned and arched an eyebrow at her wife. "Working from home?"

Kate shrugged. "What? For once things seem relatively calm and I'm on top of my paperwork; something that we can both agree almost never happens. I know full well that you have already filed all required reports."

"Of course." Osgood nodded, priding herself on her record of getting all paperwork in at least two hours before her deadlines. She'd like a bigger gap, if she was honest, but most of the time it just wasn't feasible. "But that doesn't–"

"We have the house to ourselves." Her wife reminded her, moving to stand in the brunette's personal space, tugging her closer by the lapels of her lab coat. "If we leave early we can make the most of it… and still be in bed asleep by eight."

Osgood chuckled, a grin spreading over her face before she leant in to kiss Kate softly. "I knew there was a reason I married you."


	53. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! I hope you had a lovely day, whatever you were doing.  
> I’m sorry it’s been so long since I updated... this term at work has been absolutely non-stop!  
> I meant to upload this chapter yesterday, but somehow I managed to delete it from the face of the earth and had to re-write it. I’m not totally happy with this version, but if I don’t upload it now I won’t upload it at all!  
> Anyway, this is a two-parter. I’m hoping to upload the next part either tonight or tomorrow, but in the time I was supposed to be finishing it off I had to re-write this one!  
> I hope you enjoy this Festive-mess!
> 
> x

Kate yawned widely and stretched lazily, one hand creeping across the rumpled bottom sheet beside her in search of her wife. A pout crossed her lips as she realised that Osgood was missing although, judging by the fact the other side of the bed was still warm, Kate guessed that she hadn’t long gone. Yawning again, the blonde glanced at the time and was surprised to see that it was long past the time she’d assumed their two and a half year old twins would wake them up. Then it dawned on Kate that that was probably where Osgood was.  
  
Sure enough, a few moments after Kate had fully come round, the door was flung open with so much force that it rebounded off the wall. Henry bounded into the room, his sister just behind him, bouncing onto the bed with a broad grin plastered on his face.  
  
“Kissmass!” Alice announced, throwing herself onto the bed beside her mother.  
  
Kate glanced up, meeting her wife’s eyes in shared amusement at their daughter’s speech impediment, which so often made her completely innocent statements so funny. Osgood chuckled softly, placing Henry and Alice’s stockings on the spare patch of duvet beside Kate’s legs and sliding back into bed beside her.  
  
“Presents!” Henry added excitedly, spotting the stockings that Osgood had brought in with them and immediately grabbing the one with his name embroidered on in swirling, gold thread. “Did Father Christmas bring you anything?”  
  
“I don’t think–” Kate started, but Osgood cut her off.  
  
Leaning over the side of the bed, the brunette fished something out and righted herself, grinning. “He sure did. Your Mama’s been a very, very good girl this year.”  
  
“Os!” Kate’s eyes widened in surprise. “When did you…? I haven’t… I never thought… I’m sorry, my love.”  
  
“Don’t be silly!” The younger woman laughed softly, leaning in to press a chaste kiss to her lips. “Did you get everything sorted last night?”  
  
“Mmmm… some slightly confused pensioners in Taunton after a run-in with some talking deer-like aliens. Obviously _she_ had to show up to help and ended up making the whole thing unnessessarily confusing by handing out mince pies, which turned out not to be mince pies after all..."  
  
Osgood chuckled. “Very festive.”  
  
“Mmm…” Kate rolled her eyes, “thank you for these, sweetheart.”  
  
Henry frowned. “Why are you saying thank you to Mum?”  
  
“Because she’s a silly goose.” Osgood informed him, earning herself a mock glare from her wife. “Come on, what did you get?”  
  
“Did you get one, Mum or were you naughty like Emmy?”  
  
“Why would you think Emmy was naughty?” Kate asked, attempting to stifle a chuckle.  
  
“Se’ena said that Emmy was a bad, bad girl.” Alice informed her seriously. “But Se’ena was laughing, so Emmy can’t be that naughty, can she?”  
  
Her mothers exchanged a look, before hurriedly directing their attention back to their stockings. As the twins ripped into their presents, paper flying around the room as they excitedly discovered what they’d been left, Osgood focused her attention on her wife. She watched as Kate carefully unwrapped her gifts with much more care, but no less enthusiasm than their children. A chuckle escaped her as she opened a glasses case with a gps tracker attached, pretended to scowl as she opened a fluorescent yellow ‘reminder’ notepad, sighed at the pastel silk scarf and gasped as the framed photograph.  
  
“Where did you find this?” She asked Osgood, looking up at her in surprise.  
  
“What do you–?” Henry started, peering between his mothers suspiciously.  
  
Most of the time his mothers thoroughly enjoyed the fact that he and his sister were so far beyond their peers, no doubt the consequence of the Time Vortex’s role in their conception. The scientist in both of them was fascinated by the substantial difference in where they should have been developmentally and where they were. Every new milestone they reached filled them with awe; especially Kate who had raised Gordy and Emily but discovered things at a much, much slower pace.  
  
At that moment, however, both women cursed it. “Why don’t you two go and get dressed ready to go to Serena and Emily’s, OK?” Henry looked at them for a moment and Osgood sighed. “You can eat your chocolate coins.”  
  
With a whoop of delight the twins slid off the bed and disappeared from sight, their stockings dragging behind them and banging off the walls as they went. As soon as they were alone once more, Osgood busied herself tidying up the sea of wrapping paper strewn around their bedroom, but Kate reached out and wrapped a gentle hand around her arm.  
  
“Os? I thought the only copy of this photo was destroyed in the archive fire.”  
  
“Well, logically, I thought that couldn’t be true, but tracking down another copy was more difficult than I expected.” Osgood replied.  
  
The brunette had spent a long time trawling databases and archives, even going as far as to call Captain Jack Harkness and ask him to search the Torchwood databanks too. Her conversation with the Doctor on the subject had been convoluted and resulted in a very confused junior scientist bringing her a photograph of, what was later identified as, a Vunrelan Harvest Ceremony. Osgood had no idea how, but her request had somehow got very, very lost in translation.  
  
“I called General Bambera in the end. She told me that she thought Albert might have a copy and gave me his number. He was a bit surprised when–”  
  
“Albert?”  
  
“Your brother.”  
  
Kate stiffened immediately. “Half-brother.”  
  
Osgood smiled softly at her, knowing that her wife was sensitive about her father’s ‘other’ family. Not that her brother was any less sensitive about being their father’s son. Kate huffed at her, before her gaze dropped to the photograph in her hands once more. It was the last photo her father had had taken in his General’s uniform and the first that had been taken of Kate after she’d joined UNIT. She had often said she would make a copy but never seemed to get round to it. It was ridiculous, but it was just one of those things.  
  
“Anyway, Albert let me borrow the photo to make a copy for you.”  
  
There was a long pause before Kate tugged on the arm that was still loosely held in her hand, pulling her wife towards her. Osgood smiled, leaning down to press a kiss to her lips, tangling her free hand in the blonde, sleep-mussed locks.  
  
“Thank you, darling.”  
  
“You’re more than welcome, love.”  
  
The thundering of toddler footsteps and the twins crashing into the room, demanding to know whether it was time for more presents yet, completely spoiling the moment.


	54. Make the Yuletide Gay (or Emily Just Can't Help Herself)

"Get your nose out of that phone, Emily Stewart." Serena ordered, waving a serving spoon in her fiancée's direction with mock irritation. "Honestly! On Christmas Day? Smart phones are the scourge of our society."

"You've said, babe, about twelve times already today."

"Then take some notice of me, please!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Emily made a big show of putting her mobile down on the counter. "Happy now?"

"I'd be happier if you'd help me with this."

"Alright, you have my full attention. What do you want me to do?"

Serena immediately launched into a list of jobs that needed to be finished before their guests arrived for lunch. Only a couple of moments into the rant, Emily was too distracted to pay attention to what the other woman was saying. Serena's cheeks were flushed from spending so much time in the boiling hot kitchen and she'd undone the top few buttons of her shirt, letting it flop open and reveal a glimpse of black lace beneath.

"Hmmm?" Emily straightened quickly, suddenly aware that Serena had asked her a question, but having no idea what it was.

"Are you even listening to me?" Serena demanded.

"No," her fiancée admitted, "sorry, I was thinking about how beautiful you are."

Serena huffed, but couldn't help a small smile twisting her lips even as she attempted to stay cross. "Don't you even try that with me, Emily Stewart! I've got far too much to do for your nonsense!"

"Like what?" The look of disbelief she received was enough to make her hold up her hands in surrender. "OK, OK!"

"Go and get dressed! Your family will be here any minute!"

"Before I go, let me just..." she stepped forward into Serena's personal space, pressing her back against the kitchen counters and kissing her firmly. For a moment, the older woman huffed irritably, before sighing and wrapping her arms around Emily's neck.

"Aunty Serena?" Jason appeared in the doorway, preventing Emily from taking things further.

Serena straightened her blouse, surreptitiously doing up a couple of buttons, before smiling at her nephew. "Hello, darling. I thought you were watching that film about penguins?"

"It's nearly half past eleven." He informed her, ignoring the question. "Kate and Osgood will be here in just over thirty minutes and Emily isn't dressed yet."

"I've just told her to get dressed."

"Hurry up, Emily. I need you to help me finish setting up the conservatory for our quiz championship." He said with a frown.

"Give me five minutes and I'll be there."

"Ten." Serena argued. "Do something with your hair." When the younger woman shot her a smirk, she huffed. "Yes, it's my fault it's a mess, I know!"

"How is it your fault?" Jason asked, confused.

Emily chuckled and left her fiancée to deal with that comment on her own.

* * *

"We got lucky, didn't we?" Kate sighed, leaning back against the cushions beside her daughter.

They watched their respective partners chatting animatedly over the cookbook Jason had bought his aunt for Christmas, no doubt planning what they would rustle up for the New Year's Day dinner party Osgood had decided to throw. Gordon and Jason were playing the new racing game that Gordy had bought the other young man, while Lorna was doing her best to entertain the twins, who were having an absolutely wonderful time swimming in the sea of discarded wrapping paper.

"We did." Emily agreed, a smile twisting her lips as Serena glanced up and caught her eyes. The older woman beamed back at her, her eyes crinkling with pure happiness and warmth spread through Emily's chest at the sight. "She's in a much better place this Christmas. I know she's still grieving for Elinor, but she seems so much happier this year."

"I'm so proud of you, Em." Kate told her softly, turning her head and smiling softly. "You've come so far since you met Serena. You've settled down, you're getting married and you're almost a fully qualified nurse."

"What about you?" Her daughter replied, wafting a hand at her mother's words. "You've finally found someone who truly deserves you. I'm so happy that you've got Osgood and the twins." She shot her a smirk. "You're welcome, by the way."

"Hmm?"

"Well, all this is down to me, isn't it?" Emily teased. "If it wasn't for me neither of us would be where we are, would we? You'd probably still be a lonely, closeted, work-a-holic who barely saw anything of the outside world and I–"

"You'd probably have slept with half the female population of London or be in prison."

"Or both." The younger woman agreed with a laugh.

"What are you two cackling about?" Gordy asked, glancing up and catching sight of his mother and sister laughing to themselves.

"Alternative universes," Emily replied with a shrug, "and the possibilities they may hold."

"Particularly funny thought, is it?"

"No." Kate cut in frowning at her daughter. "Not funny at all."

Emily rolled her eyes. "But very much _alternative_."

"What are you talking about?" Serena asked, standing and making her way across the room, Osgood following. She attempted to sit on the arm of the sofa, but Emily pulled her fiancée into her lap and pressed a sloppy kiss to her cheek. "Oh, something you don't want to tell me about, hmm?"

"We were just saying how lucky we are." Kate informed her as Osgood dropped down beside her, lacing their fingers together instinctively. "I was saying that you've probably saved my daughter from jail."

Serena chuckled. "I don't know about that, but I feel just as lucky to have her and all of you."

There was a pause as they all thought about their situations, before Jason cleared his throat loudly. "Is it time for the Quiz Championship, yet?"

"Yes!" Emily dislodged Serena from her lap and leapt off the sofa. "I'm on your team, Jase."

"Wait!" Gordy frowned at his sister, following her into the conservatory where they had set up for the tournament. "That's not fair! Why do you get to choose first?"

"Because I'm younger than you. Also, I want Osgood."

"No!"

"Children!" Kate huffed, standing and stretching her back, before following them. She raised her voice over those of her arguing offspring. "Anyway _I_ get Osgood; she's _my_ wife."

"Must be nice to be so in demand." Serena chuckled, following as Osgood and Lorna ushered the twins in the direction of the arguing.

"They're so competitive. I've got half a mind to refuse to play." The younger woman replied with a smirk.

"You wouldn't?" The three indignant Stewarts demanded in unison, catching her words as they entered the conservatory or 'game zone' as Jason and Emily had been calling it all week.

In the end Jason made the executive decision that they would play with their respective partners while he took the role of quizmaster. He even proudly donned the bowtie he had sourced especially for the occasion. Everything seemed to be going relatively calmly, with only a few minor disagreements, until, for the fourth time, Gordy jumped in and answered a question that his sister had been about to answer. In retaliation, Emily threw a wicker waste paper bin at him, narrowly missing their mother and causing Serena to call an end to the game.

Several hours later, 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' played softly in the background while the four women made the most of the peace and quiet. The baby monitor on the end table beside Kate lit up every now and then; soft snuffles reassured them that the twins were sleeping upstairs.

"Well, we certainly made the yuletide gay." Emily announced suddenly, causing her mother to snort with amusement, Osgood to look at her incredulously and Serena to huff irritably, rolling her eyes.

"She's been dying to say that all day." Serena told them.

"That was terrible, Em." Kate informed her, throwing one of the cushions across the room and hitting her square in the face. "Absolutely awful."

"At least I waited until now." Her daughter pointed out, shrugging and smiling almost innocently, as though she'd done them all a favour by waiting. "I could have said it when everyone else was here."

"That is something." Serena conceded. "Having Jason explaining the true meaning of that sentiment versus your meaning would have been too much for me to handle, I think."

"Lorna's face would probably have gone redder than she did when you made that 'nip slip' joke at lunch." Kate mused, remembering Gordon's girlfriend's reaction to her daughter. She still didn't seem to understand Emily and her humour and Kate felt a little bit sorry for her. "Poor girl…"

"If she's planning on staying part of this family, then she'd better start getting used to me." Emily announced seriously, snuggling closer to Serena and smiling as her fiancée placed a kiss on the side of her head.

"Even I'm not used to you and I'm your mother," Kate joked, "so God help everyone else!"

They lapsed into silence as they stared at the wood burner, each of them lost in their own thoughts again for a short while. When Osgood tried and failed to stifle a yawn, they decided it was probably time to call it a night.

Whispering goodnight to Kate and Osgood outside the door to the spare room, Emily and Serena carefully made their way along the corridor, conscious of not making any noise and waking Jason or the twins. Once they were safely inside, Serena grasped Emily's face gently in her hands and kissed her.

"Merry Christmas, darling."

"Shall we work on making the yuletide–?"

"No." Serena looked at her sternly, although her fiancée could see the corners of her lips twisting upwards. "If you say one more word you can forget about it."

And so Emily didn't.


	55. Waking up on the Wrong Side (Part 1)

“Gordy?” The young man stretched, yawning widely as his girlfriend entered their bedroom. “Your mum called; she wants you to pop over and pick up your Christmas present.” 

“Now?”

“Apparently she wants to give it to you herself and she needs to be at work in an hour.”

Grumbling, Gordon pulled himself out of bed, yawning again as he hunted through the pile of clothes on the chair in the corner. “Why didn’t she give it to me yesterday?”

“I don’t know!” Lorna shook her head. “Don’t ask me to understand the way your mother’s mind works.”

The bite in her words confused Gordon slightly. Lorna had always got on well with his mother, even if she was a little in awe of the older woman. The tone of her voice, however, suggested something different.

Deciding that he didn’t really want to dig much further, he simply put it down to Kate interrupting their plan for a quiet Boxing Day that involved them staying in their pyjamas and making the most of having a rare day to themselves.

Instead, however, he found himself heading across town to his mother’s house.

Letting himself in, Gordon spotted his sister heading into the kitchen. “Hey, Em.”

She paused, turning and looking at him disinterestedly for a moment. “Alright?”

“Yeah… you’re here early. I thought you’d still be–”

“Just got in.” Emily replied, not bothering to stifle a yawn. “Crashed at Hannah’s… no… Harriet? Heather?” She shrugged. “I can’t remember… doesn’t matter, anyway.”

“Wait… what?” Gordon frowned, staring at his sister in complete confusion. “You’re dating?”

Emily shrugged, apparently completely disinterested by their conversation. “Dating? It’s not that serious… it’s never serious. I do what I want, when I want, with whoever I want.” She grinned, as though inspiration had just struck her. “Hazel! It was Hazel last night.”

“What about Serena?”

“What about her?” Emily muttered. “What’s the evil stepmother been saying now?”

“Evil stepmother?”

“What is wrong with you?” The young woman asked, frowning at him. “Been on the pills again?”

“Pills?”

“Oh my god…”

Rolling her eyes, Emily pushed past him and stamped up the stairs. As the door of her bedroom slammed shut, Gordon looked at his reflection in the hall mirror for a moment, trying to work out whether he’d lost his mind or whether it was just everyone around him. Or just Emily. Nodding to himself, the young man suddenly realised that this was probably just his sister playing some kind of warped trick on him. He wouldn’t put it past her, anyway.

“Em?”

“What, loser?” She yelled, throwing open her door and leaning over the banisters so that she could scowl down at him.

He frowned at her change of outfit. “You going out?”

“I’m meeting someone.”

“You’ve got a date…?”

She snorted. “Generally, yes.”

“But I thought you…?”

“I said I can do whatever I want.” Emily told him bluntly. “Why are you suddenly acting like this is all new to you?”

“I just… this is a joke, right?” He asked, not even bothering to hide his confusion. “You’re gonna start laughing at me in a minute and remind me that you changed for Serena and you’re all domesticated and loved-up now.”

Emily looked at him in disgust as he climbed the stairs and came to a halt on the landing in front of her. “What the hell are you on about? Why would I change for our mother’s wife? I can’t stand the woman. Wait… are you suggesting that me and Serena… ew?”

“No, hang on, but–”

“Have you lost the plot?”

“No… but Serena’s not Mum’s wife; she’s your fiancée.”

For a moment Emily simply stared at him. Then she took several steps forward, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him into Kate and Osgood’s bedroom. Except that it wasn’t. Everything was similar, but just different enough to throw him completely, especially the framed photographs around the room that he didn’t recognise at all. The most noticeable difference was that Osgood was conspicuous by her absence, but Serena featured heavily.

“That’s not right…”

Laying the back on her hand on his forehead, Emily looked at her brother with sudden mild concern. “Have you got a head injury or something?”

“This isn’t right…” He repeated, shaking his head. “Serena is _your_ fiancée. _Osgood_ is Mum’s wife.”

“Osgood? As in the woman mum worked with for about five minutes?” Emily snorted. “In which universe?”

“Not this one, obviously…” Gordon murmured. “What about Alice and Henry?”

“Who?”

“They’re…” He stopped himself answering. It was evident she didn’t know what he was talking about.

“Right well… this has been suitably weird.” His sister replied, shooting him a look and pushing past. “I’m going out. I might see you later.”

“I’ll probably head back to my flat.” Gordon thought out loud.

“What flat? You don’t have a flat.” She snorted. “Seriously, Gord, you’re being really weird. I’d go and have a lie down in your ‘flat’ if I were you.”

Emphasising the word flat, Emily laughed at her brother, barging past him and knocking into him with her shoulder. Without a backwards glance she grabbed her jacket off the banister and headed down the stairs, slamming the front door behind her.

Curiously, Gordon moved towards his old bedroom. Opening the door revealed the cause of Emily’s amusement, as it was blatantly obvious that he still lived at home and slept in his childhood bedroom. Taking a deep breath, Gordon attempted to formulate a plan; there was something drastically wrong and he needed to put it right. The only person he could think of to help him was the Doctor, but he had no idea where she might be.

Hearing the door opening downstairs, Gordon left the room and leant over the banister, looking down into the hallway below. There were two, very familiar, figures standing together beside the front door, but they were in a very unfamiliar pose.

“Woah!” Gordon exclaimed before he could stop himself. “Mum, what are you doing?”

Pulling away from Serena, but not breaking their embrace, Kate looked at him in confusion. “Umm… You’re thirty-two, Gordon. I’m pretty sure you know exactly what we’re doing."

“Yeah, obviously, but… Serena?”

The brunette smirked at him. “Please don’t tell me you’ve caught Emily’s disapproval? It’s been nine years. It’s a little late to start deciding you don’t like me either."

“But, no… this isn’t… Emily loves Serena.”

Kate’s eyebrows shot up. “She _what_?”

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken, darling.” Serena informed him calmly. “Your sister can’t stand to be in the same room as me. Made yesterday quite awkward, if you’ll remember. It shows how much she hates her father that she actually chose to spend Christmas with us.”

“Speaking of your oh so delightful sister, where’s she gone? We drove past her heading into town.”

Gordon shrugged. “I don’t know. On a date, though, apparently.”

“What?” Kate frowned at her son. “What’s wrong with you this afternoon?”

“Nothing… tired.” He shook his head. “But that’s not… how can you let her behave like that? Sleeping with random women?”

“We don’t _let_ her do anything.” Serena snapped. “Your sister is a law unto herself.”

“This is so wrong.”

“I know that, but–” Kate started, but her son cut her off.

“No, this… all of it. This is so wrong. It’s the Doctor’s fault… she did something… she messed something up.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The blonde replied bluntly. “Why would the Doctor have anything to do with anything?”

“Well she was bringing something to you for Osgood to look at. She wanted UNIT’s input on–”

Serena cleared her throat and told them that she was going to start dinner, leaving Kate to deal with her son. Leading him over to the sofa, the woman sank down and patted the cushion next to her. Confused, Gordon dropped down beside his mother and waited for her to speak.

“Gordy… I don’t work for UNIT anymore… I haven’t for nearly a decade.”

“What?” His eyebrows furrowed. “That’s not… You’re in charge of UNIT. Under you it’s become focused on science. It’s so much more inclusive and advanced than it used to be. Science leads, remember?”

“No, sweetheart. I’m a Consultant Trauma Surgeon. I work at Holby City Hospital. I left UNIT to take up the full time position there.”

“No, you didn’t… you left Holby when your case ended and told them you were going to the Ukraine.”

“Have you taken your medication today?” Kate asked him gently.

“What medication?” Sighing, she walked over to the cabinet in the corner and pulled a bottle of pills out of the drawer. Shaking two into her hand, she offered them to her son. “What are they?”

“Your pills, Gordon. You need to take them. You know things get foggy if you don’t.”

“No, that’s not…” He shook his head vehemently. “That’s not right. Mum… you married Osgood, not Serena. You love Osgood. It’s Emily who loves Serena.”

“Gordon.” Kate was angry now. “Stop it. That is enough.” She turned to face him seriously. “You can’t keep doing this. Since… Since Lorna left I know you’ve found it hard to cope, but if you don’t take your medication you lose your grip on reality. You forget the truth. You need to keep on top of this, Gordon.”

“But Lorna’s hasn’t–”

“Please, Gordy…”

He clamped his eyes shut, refusing to believe what he was hearing. He needed to find the Doctor and make her sort everything out. Everything was wrong; nothing made the slightest bit of sense.

* * *

 

“Shove over.” Emily commanded.

It was nearly lunchtime and she had just emerged from her pit; hair thoroughly wild, banging headache and a craving for coco pops. Apparently some things didn’t change, after all, Gordon decided as she flopped down beside him on the sofa. He frowned at her as she grabbed the remote and found the children’s’ channel.

He had spent the previous afternoon and evening trying to work out what was happening. The young man had failed to get through to the Doctor; receiving the answerphone message every time he called. Frustrated, he’d given up and gone to bed at about ten o’clock, hoping that the whole mess would be sorted when he woke up. If waking up that morning had caused the shift in reality in the first place, then surely it was logical that it would be fixed in the same way.

Apparently, though, it hadn’t.

“What, Gopher?” She demanded irritably, catching him staring at her. “What is your problem?”

“You!” He snapped. “What about Serena?”

“What about her?”

“I need your help.” He said with a sigh, changing the subject. “Please, Em?”

“What’s wrong? Girl trouble? It’s about time you got back on the horse.”

“No. I need to find the Doctor.”

Emily snorted. “The Doctor? Seriously? He’s just a story Gramps used to tell us.”

“ _She_ isn’t.” He argued. “She’s the cause of all this. She’s got to sort it out.”

“All what, Gordon? I don’t understand what you’re on about.” Emily looked at him for a moment. “Have you been taking your meds?”

“Yes!”

“Right…”

“This isn’t you, Em. You settled down. You live with Serena. You love her.”

“Again, ew.”

“No!” He shook his head vigorously. “ _This_ is ‘ew’. Mum and Serena, you and whoever... That’s what’s wrong.”

“You’re so weird.”

“And you’re in love with Serena Campbell.”

“She’s what?”

They both looked up as the woman herself walked into the living room, staring between them in astonishment mixed with horror. Emily glared furiously at her brother before she reached out and punched him, hard, in the thigh. Gordon, for his part, blushed crimson and stared at his hands.

“He’s talking complete crap.” Emily muttered, turning her attention back to the television and sinking down in her seat. “I think he’s off his meds. You’re the doctor, you deal with him.”

Standing, she slammed her cereal bowl down on the coffee table and stalked out of the room. Serena scowled after her, shaking her head at the younger woman’s retreating figure. They listened to her heavy footfalls on the stairs and the familiar slam of her bedroom door.

“Your sister is twenty-three going on thirteen. Kate would kick her out if she wasn’t convinced she’d end up dead… or worse. No respect for anyone or anything that one.”

Gordon chewed the inside of his cheek, thinking fast. “You’ve never stopped to think about why she hates the fact you’re with Mum, have you?”

“I assume it’s because she hates to see anyone being happy.”

“It’s because she’s in love with you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Gordy!” Serena laughed. “I doubt your sister is even capable of loving anyone.”

“Go on, then. Go and ask her.”

The woman scoffed. “And have a door slammed in my face? I don’t think so.”

“Serena.”

“Totally ridiculous…” She muttered, shaking her head at the expression on his face. “Fine!” Throwing up her hands, she moved to the door. “Fine! I’ll go and ask her. I’ll ask her and then I’ll deal with whatever vicious, horrible comments she throws my way. Thank you very much, Gordon.”

Clenching her fists at her sides, Serena marched away, leaving Gordon hoping that something might come of the exchange while he continued to attempt to track down the irritatingly, uncharacteristically, absent Time Lady.

Rapping on the door with her knuckles, Serena didn’t bother to wait for any response before she pushed her way into Emily’s bedroom. The young woman scowled at her, standing up from her bed and folding her arms defensively across her chest.

“Well?”

“He’s an idiot.” Emily spat out hastily. “He’s talking absolute crap.”

“As I thought.” Serena nodded.

“Why did you come up here, then?” Emily challenged. “Bored of my Mum already, are you? What? Fancied trading her in for a younger model? Don’t care who, just someone younger than her. Just like my dad did. I thought it was just men you can’t trust.”

Serena surged forward at the accusation, narrowing her eyes and standing inches away from the young woman. “Don’t you dare!”

“What? Got a bit too close to the truth, did I?”

“What is wrong with you?”

Emily narrowed her eyes at Serena. They were both breathing hard, anger surging through them both. The air seemed to shift around them, the atmosphere suddenly charged with electricity. Before Serena had time to take the step back that she had been planning, Emily was on her, kissing her forcefully and pressing her backwards into the door.

Wrenching herself away, Serena stared at the younger woman; eyes wide and breathing laboured. She inhaled deeply, leaning heavily against the door, bringing her hand up to press against her kiss-swollen lips. Emily stared at her, as though she wasn’t sure what had just happened.

“I’m sorry, Serena, I…”

Her apology was swallowed in yet another kiss as Serena wrapped her arms around her. Suddenly everything Gordon had been saying made perfect sense to the twenty-three-year-old. She was in love with Serena and, judging by the way the older woman was holding her impossibly tightly, she felt the same way. Everything was a complete mess.

“Shit… I love you.” Emily mumbled against Serena’s lips as they broke apart for air.

The smile she received in response to her words warmed her heart. Then it dropped from the other woman’s face. “Oh… oh god.”


	56. Waking up on the Wrong Side (Part 2)

Gordon had just managed to get through to the Doctor, who seemed incredibly surprised when she realised who had phoned, when he heard the front door slam. Moving to the window, he watched as his sister walked quickly away from the house; her hands pushed into her coat pockets and her head bowed.

"Is she OK?" He asked, turning as Serena entered the room.

"What?" The older woman looked almost shell-shocked. "Oh, yeah… fine. I'm going to…"

Confused, the young man watched as she wandered into the kitchen, pulling the door firmly closed behind her. Gordy hesitated, wondering whether he should attempt to talk to her, but the closed door seemed to suggest that Serena wasn't in the mood for a conversation.

Gordon had absolutely no idea what to do. The situation was so far beyond his understanding that he had a suspicion that whatever he did might just make things worse. His mother had gone to work and he had no idea where Emily was. The radio had been turned on in the kitchen now and Serena evidently didn't want company.

A familiar sound broke the uncomfortable silence and Gordon could honestly say he'd never been so relieved to hear the TARDIS materialising in his life. It only took a couple of moments for the blue police box to appear on the pavement outside the house and then, filling Gordon with relief, the blonde Gallifreyan almost bounced out and up the steps, banging loudly on the front door.

"I'll get it." Gordon shouted immediately, although he suspected that Serena had no intention of answering it anyway.

"Where's the fire?" The Doctor asked the second the door was open. "You said there was an emergency."

Ushering her inside, he nodded. "Everything's wrong. Mum's married to Serena and Em's worse than she was before. Mum doesn't even work for UNIT anymore. The worst part is they have absolutely no idea it's wrong."

"Something must have happened to cause this. Think back… what's the last thing you remember?"

"We were at Em and Serena's for Christmas Day."

"Right… were there any unusual presents? Anything that seemed odd or out of place?"

"No, nothing!"

"There must have been something." She argued. "Cross-dimensional reality shifts don't just happen for no reason. There needs to be some sort of trigger… anything at all, Gordy?"

He shook his head. "No, honestly."

"I know your mother… she didn't start talking about what could have been at any point?"

"Well… she and Emily were talking about how lucky they were at one point." Gordon admitted. "They were laughing about what might have happened if things were different…"

The Doctor frowned at him. "That would do it."

"But… people must have those conversations all the time." Gordon reasoned. "Why did we end up here?"

"I don't know… are you sure there was nothing else strange about yesterday?"

"No, I…"

"Gordon?"

"Gordy, are you–? Oh!" Serena entered the living room and stopped at the sight of her stepson talking to the pretty blonde woman. "Hello?"

"Serena, hello!" The Doctor beamed at her. When the brunette blinked in confusion, she pulled a face. "Ah… I forgot."

"This is the Doctor, Serena." Gordon explained hurriedly.

The expression on Serena's face changed rapidly. She frowned, her arms folding across her chest as she fixed the Time Lady with a scowl. "What do you want?"

"She's come to help me fix this little problem."

"Problem?"

"I told you," Gordon looked almost angry, "this is all wrong."

Ignoring him, Serena turned to the Doctor. "This isn't helping, him. You can't indulge his delusions like this. Gordy needs everyone around him to be realistic and keep a level head."

"I see what you mean…" the Doctor glanced at Gordon, "this is definitely wrong. She hasn't even offered me a drink yet!"

"A drink? Why would I offer you a drink? Every time you turn up things go wrong! I bet you've done something, haven't you? It's probably your fault that I–"

"My fault that you… what?"

Serena shook her head, turning away. If they weren't very much mistaken, she was blushing. "I'm going to phone Kate."

As she headed away, the Doctor shrugged and dropped onto the sofa. "Where's Osgood when you need her?"

"I don't know." Gordon admitted. "No one really seems to mention her. Em said that Mum had worked with her, but that was it." He paused, noticing that she was watching him carefully. "What?"

"Nothing…" The Doctor whipped out a pair of cardboard 3D glasses, balancing them on her nose and looking intently through them. "Ah-ha!"

"What?"

"Void stuff."

Gordon frowned. "What?"

"When you cross the gap between universes, you pick up background radiation… void stuff as I like to call it."

"Right… and the 3D glasses?"

She grinned, taking them off and holding them out. "See for yourself. Look at your hands."

Gordon frowned as he put the glasses on and looked down at his hands. Sure enough, flecks of what seemed to be dust were floating around him, following the movement of his hands and never moving more than a couple of inches away at any time. Glancing up at the Doctor, he realised that there was none of the 'void stuff' around her.

"Why–?"

"I haven't crossed the void." She answered his question before he'd asked it. Pulling out her sonic screwdriver, she started scanning him thoughtfully. "Last time this happened..."

Gordon thought he made out the words 'cybermen' and 'Rose', but the Doctor was so deep in concentration that he didn't ask her to elaborate. Instead he sat patiently as she continued to scan him, before checking the readings on the device with a frown.

"Nano Mites." The Doctor announced, wrinkling her nose.

"I'm sorry?"

"That's what this is. Nano Mites... a small parasite usually found on planets where humanoid life forms reside. They feed on emotion and I'm guessing that when Emily and Kate were talking about this alternative reality there was a spike in the emotion field and the Nano Mites realised that there would be more energy for them to feed on if that reality were to become... well, reality."

"But why me? Why did I get brought here?"

"Are you experiencing raised levels of emotion?"

He frowned. "Of course I am! This is bloody mental!"

"There's your answer, then, Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. You're the host. The Nano Mites brought you here in order to feed off your emotional energy, as well as that of your family."

"So how do we get things back to normal?" Gordon demanded. "This is horrible. Is it some true love's kiss thing? Do we need to make them realise who they really love?"

"Very happily ever after." The Doctor replied, slightly sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "No, of course that isn't the answer."

"Well, what is?"

"We need to re-open the void and send you back through it."

"Here?"

She looked at him as though he were particularly stupid. "No, we need a contained area with monitoring equipment and someone who knows what they're doing. Someone else, I mean." She added, seeing Gordon's eyebrow rising.

"Osgood?"

The Doctor nodded. "Osgood."

Immediately they made to leave, ready to head for the Tower of London where the Doctor assured Gordon that Osgood was still working. They spoke quickly, in low voices, as they walked towards the front door. Gordon had his hand on the latch when the kitchen door was flung open and Serena appeared. She looked furious and Gordon had to wonder if she'd even pulled that expression at his sister when she did something particularly stupid.

"Where are you going?" She demanded.

"Err… shop?"

"Paris?"

Serena looked between them as they gave different answers, both instinctively not telling the truth about their destination. Not believing them for a second, she merely crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, tapping one foot and signalling that she was waiting for the real answer.

"OK, fine. We're going to UNIT HQ to find Osgood." Gordon told her, his words rushing out as an exhalation of breath.

"Snitch." The Doctor muttered under her breath.

"Why on earth…? Is this something to do with what you were saying about–?"

Gordon held up his hands. "I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's the truth. Serena, please… the Doctor thinks she knows how to fix all this. We need to–"

"I'm phoning your mother. She can deal with this." The older woman told him bluntly, pulling her phone out of her back pocket and hitting a number in her speed dial.

The Doctor glanced sideways at Gordon, before backing towards the front door. "Right, well… while you do that, we should…"

"Yeah, we should."

"No you don't!"

Serena followed them out of the house and onto the pavement as the Doctor unlocked the TARDIS. They made no attempt to stop the irate brunette as she stormed into the police box, neither of them paying much attention as the doors slammed shut and the Doctor moved around the console, imputing the co-ordinated for UNIT HQ and sending them into the Vortex.

"What the…?"

"It's bigger on the inside, yes, I know." The Doctor agreed, sparing Serena a brief look over her shoulder before slamming down the landing lever.

"I was going to say it's like something off Star Trek."

The blonde looked outraged at the suggestion. "Star Trek?!"

Sensing that she was about to get distracted and go off on a rant, Gordon cleared his throat and indicated that they had landed. Sending Serena a final glare, the Doctoral stalked towards the double doors and threw them open, revealing the interior of a science laboratory on the other side.

"Uh… hello?" A timid voice greeted them. A warm smile spread across Gordon's face as he turned and found Osgood looking at them curiously. "Is… are… how can I help?"

"Os!" The young man couldn't help himself wrapping her in a bear hug. He pulled away as she cleared her throat nervously. "Sorry… I'm–"

"Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, I remember." She smiled weakly at him, taking a steadying puff of her inhaler. "Although it's been years since I saw you last. You've grown up."

"You haven't changed a bit."

"Excuse me." Serena drew their attention back to the situation. "Will you please explain what the hell is going on?"

"Gordy explained." The Doctor replied simply, moving to pat Osgood on the shoulder companionably, before scrutinising some of the objects on her workbench closely. "He's found himself here in an alternative universe and we need to open the void and send him back."

"An alternative universe?" Osgood asked interestedly, her eyes sparking with curiosity. "Really?"

"Yes… in my universe, things are… different. Very different."

"We were wondering whether we could use your lab to open a path through the void, monitoring the situation closely to prevent any leakage." The Doctor said, still focused on something Osgood had been working on. "Don't want anything else getting through, do we?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" The scientist asked nervously. "I mean, creating a rip in the void could lead to all sorts of complications."

"I'm well aware." The Doctor replied shortly. "That's why I'm here talking to you. Serena!" She pivoted on the balls of her feet, pointing at the older woman who was reaching out to touch a lightly pulsating purple rock on a table in the corner. "Don't touch. Sit over there."

"I'm not a child." The surgeon groused, scowling at her.

"I'm _trying_ to keep you safe." The Doctor retorted.

"How can you be sure that, even if we do manage to safely open the void enough to send him through, he'll get to the right place?" Osgood queried, breaking the tension. She was already subconsciously gathering various parts that might be useful. "There are infinite possible universes out there. How can you guarantee Gordon's safety?"

"Theoretically if Nano Mites brought him here, then Nano Mites should take him back to where he came from. It's like… a puzzle piece. Gordy's been taken out of his universe and slotted into this one, but he doesn't fit. Returning to the universe he belongs in is the path of least resistance, so it stands to reason that's where he'll end up."

"Theoretically?"

"I am still here, you know?" Gordon reminded them, frowning lightly.

"So, Osgood?" The Doctor shot her a crooked grin. "Can you help us?"

"I think…" The brunette disappeared into a corner of the lab, before returning with a pile of metal pipes and cables and an odd, shimmering rock. "I was working on something before. It combines Cyberman and Silurian technology. I wasn't sure, but maybe… if you'd take a look at it…"

Running an appraising eye over the circuit Osgood had rigged up, the Doctor suddenly clapped her hands. "Genius!"

"You think it'll work?" Osgood looked unconvinced, even as the Doctor began jumping around the lab gathering up more bits and pieces.

"We just need to find a power source large enough to charge it. If I just adjust the drivers and redeploy the parallel modularisation containment unit…"

There was a whirring sound and suddenly a swirling, twisting vortex of light appeared in the centre of the lab. The lights danced across the equipment, causing reflections to play across the tiled walls and floor. Osgood immediately began monitoring the readings flashing across the screen to her left, leaving Gordon to gape at the contraption in awe. Neither woman seemed remotely fazed by the situation, but he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Is it…?"

"I think we're good to go." The Doctor nodded at him. "Good luck, Gordon Stewart."

The young man sucked in his breath and nodded sharply, stepping purposefully towards the swirling lights. He was a single pace away from the vortex when the lights fizzled to nothing and a loud popping sound signalled that the temporal jump had shut down.

"Ah…"

"What happened?" Gordon demanded, looking between the two women.

"Overloaded the power cell." Osgood sighed. "We need something bigger to tether the connection.

"Miss Osgood?"

The three humans and one Gallifreyan in the lab jumped at the sudden intrusion. They turned to find a UNIT soldier standing awkwardly in the doorway, one hand resting on his gun as though it was a comfort to him as he looked at the scientist.

"Captain Carter? How can I help?"

Gordon narrowed his eyes as he regarded the man. He'd heard the name before; mainly from his sister when she teased Osgood about the soldier's crush on her. Looking him up and down quickly, a scowl crossed his face and he instinctively shuffled closer to the brunette scientist beside him.

"You've got visitors… Kate and Emily Stewart?"

"How–?" Gordon started, but Serena cleared her throat.

"I called Kate and told her where we were." She clarified as the two women stepped into view around the corner. "I thought she should be here to stop this madness."

"Serena?" Kate moved towards her wife, reaching out to touch her cheek, her eyes roving over her carefully. "Are you alright? Gordy? What's going on?"

"Woah… this place is amazing!" Emily looked around with wide eyes, taking in all the artefacts and strange equipment that was dotted around the lab. "What's this?"

"Please don't touch, Miss Stewart." Osgood requested, looking concerned as Emily reached out for a Silurian gun.

"Sorry… call me Em. You must be Osgood?" The younger woman tilted her head to the side, looking her up and down with a smirk on her face. "Nice to see you again."

"Stop it... leave Osgood alone." Kate hissed at her daughter, before turning to the blonde. "You must be the Doctor… what, precisely, are you doing here with my son?"

"I have a feeling I'm not Osgood's type, anyway." Emily replied with a shrug. "She's probably into bossy blondes…"

She missed the look that passed between Emily and Serena, too focused on Osgood and the Doctor to realise the effect her words had had. As the Doctor launched into an explanation of the situation, aided by Osgood and Gordon, Serena grasped Emily by her upper arm and pulled the younger woman off to the side.

She stared at her angrily. "What the hell are you doing?"

"If Mum realises that that Osgood… then maybe she won't be so hurt about you and me–"

"Emily…" Serena's face softened. "Sweetheart, there is no you and me. There can't be."

Emily stared at her in disbelief. "I don't… Serena? But you–"

"I'm married to your mother, Emily."

"Yeah, but–"

"No buts." Serena shook her head, her tone more gentle when she spoke next. "How could there possibly be an us after that?"

The younger woman clenched her fists, her face hardening as she attempted to hide the hurt in her eyes. "If I can get past sleeping with your daughter–"

"You slept with Elinor?" Serena demanded, suddenly angry. "When?"

"Ever wondered why she hates me so much?"

"I… I can't…" Serena took a step backwards, knocking into the table behind her. "I can't deal with this…"

"Serena… please?"

As Emily lurched forward, her arm outstretched in the older brunette's direction, there's was an almost blinding flash of light from behind her. Instinctively, Serena reached out and pulled Emily into her side, wrapping both arms around the young women and looking hurriedly towards the cause of their alarm.

Osgood's contraption was whirring and glowing once more. Everyone stared at it for a moment, before their eyes turned to the embracing women at the back of the laboratory. Kate's eyes were wide with confusion, her mouth open as though she was going to say something, but no words came out.

"Mum…"

"Now, Gordy!" The Doctor urged, pushing him towards the vortex. "If you go it'll all sort itself out. You have to go."

"But I can't just–"

"Go!"

Against his better judgement, casting one final look over his shoulder, Gordon stepped forward into the swirling, sparking ball of light. Intense cold washed over his body, before intense heat replaced it and then everything went black.

* * *

"Gordy?" Immediately the young man sat up, looking around wildly as Lorna entered their bedroom, exactly as she had the day before. "Your mum called; she wants you to pop over and pick up your Christmas present."

"Now?"

"Apparently she wants to give it to you herself and she needs to be at work in an hour."

Already hunting through the pile of clothes on the chair in the corner, he looked at her carefully. "Why didn't she give it to me yesterday?"

"I don't know!" Lorna shook her head, frowning. "Don't ask me to understand the way your mother's mind works."

Worried that the Doctor had been wrong and he'd found himself in the wrong universe yet again, Gordon rushed across town to his mother's house. He tried to look for any hint as to whether the plan had worked or not, looking for familiar or unfamiliar things as he made his way through the familiar streets.

Letting himself in, with a disturbing sense of déjà vu, Gordon spotted his sister heading into the kitchen. "Hey, Em."

She paused, turning and looking at him disinterestedly for a moment. "Alright?"

Gordon's heart sank as he vividly remembered the conversation from the last time he'd been there. "Yeah… you're here early. I thought you'd still be–"

"Just got in." Emily replied, not bothering to stifle a yawn. "Crashed at Hannah's… no… Harriet? Heather?" She shrugged. "I can't remember… doesn't matter, anyway."

"Wait… what?" Gordon's heart plummeted at her words. "You're dating?"

Emily frowned at him. "What? Of course not? What the hell, Gord?"

"Sorry, I just–" A wave of relief washed over him at her words. He almost laughed, but the expression on his younger sister's face stopped him. "You just… I…"

"Don't you dare say anything like that in front of Serena." She warned him irritably. "I mean it, Gordy."

"I wouldn't… of course I wouldn't."

"Right well… this has been suitably weird." His sister replied, shooting him a look and pushing past. "I'm going home. I might see you later."

At the sound of the front door closing, a lot more quietly than the last time he remembered his sister leaving the house, Gordy let out a sigh of relief. Needing to be completely sure things were back to normal, he pushed open the door to his mother's bedroom. The familiar photographs were in their places on the walls, the photo of the four of them taken at Kate and Osgood's wedding on the bedside cabinet and another of the couple holding the new-born twins.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Gordy went downstairs, making a mental note to thank the Doctor the next time she popped round for a cup of tea.


End file.
